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

Success is measured by the memories you create.

Let's face it: if you and I have the same capabilities, the same energy, the same staff, if the only thing that's different between you and me is the products we can get, and I can get a better product than you, I'm going to be a better chef.

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

I can make dough in a machine faster than I can make it by hand, but I want to make it by hand, because I want to remember the way it feels. It's so important for me to make it by hand - whether it's a pasta dough or a pâte brisée. You become involved in it. You become personal with it. For me it's such a wonderful way to get satisfaction and gratification when I'm cooking.

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 law of diminishing returns is something I really believe in.