In my generation, except for a few people who'd gone into banking or nursing or something like that, middle-class women didn't have careers. You were to marry and have children and be a nice mother. You didn't go out and do anything. I found that I got restless.

If you're in a good profession, it's hard to get bored, because you're never finished - there will always be work you haven't done.

The more you know, the more you can create. There's no end to imagination in the kitchen.

Just like becoming an expert in wine–you learn by drinking it, the best you can afford–you learn about great food by finding the best there is, whether simply or luxurious. The you savor it, analyze it, and discuss it with your companions, and you compare it with other experiences.

The shellfish thing is very scary. You have to know the people you buy from and exactly where their wholesalers are getting the fish from.

Cooking well doesn't mean cooking fancy.

I'm not wild about those twenty-four hour marinades