I don't think you could have a 7 with a manual. But I can't see having a BMW sports sedan without a manual.

Anyone can make a good roast chicken.

My childhood wasn't full of wonderful culinary memories.

I wonder if I love the communal act of eating so much because throughout my childhood, with four older brothers and a mom who worked in the restaurant business, I spent a lot of time fending for myself, eating alone - and recognizing how eating together made all the difference.

Any job worth doing is worth doing well. But to be able to do that, you have to do it over and over again.

The book is there for inspiration and as a foundation, the fundamentals on which to build.

When you acknowledge, as you must, that there is no such thing as perfect food, only the idea of it, then the real purpose of striving toward perfection becomes clear: to make people happy, that is what cooking is all about.