I admired the English immensely for all that they had endured, and they were certainly honorable, and stopped their cars for pedestrians, and called you “sir” and “madam,” and so on. But after a week there, I began to feel wild. It was those ruddy English faces, so held in by duty, the sense of “what is done” and “what is not done,” and always swigging tea and chirping, that made me want to scream like a hyena

Cooking was taken with such seriousness in France that even ordinary chefs were proud of their profession. That's what appealed to me.

I was going to be a great woman novelist. Then the war came along and I think it's hard for young people today, don't you, to realize that when World War II happened we were dying to go and help our country.

We should enjoy food and have fun. It is one of the simplest and nicest pleasures in life.

...nothing is too much trouble if it turns out the way it should.

But I was a pure romantic, and only operating with half my burners turned on.

Being tall is an advantage, especially in business. People will always remember you. And if you're in a crowd, you'll always have some clean air to breathe.