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.

They know what my standards are. They know what I need and how to get it to me, and they know how to communicate with me if for some reason they can't get it.

I wanted to write about what we were doing at the French Laundry, the recipes and the stories.

For me, thats one of the important things about cooking. What was good enough yesterday may not be good enough today.

You don't know when inspiration is going to come. But you have to be aware of what's going on around you, so that at any moment, when inspiration happens, you're ready for it and you interpret it.

We rely on our purveyors to tell us what's available and what's good.

A cookbook must have recipes, but it shouldn't be a blueprint. It should be more inspirational; it should be a guide.