Once you understand the foundations of cooking - whatever kind you like, whether it's French or Italian or Japanese - you really don't need a cookbook anymore.

I wanted to learn everything I could about what it takes to be a great chef. It was a turning point for me.

But once in a while you might see me at In and Out Burger; they make the best fast food hamburgers around.

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.

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.

Some of the recipes in the book have evolved for us. Many haven't.

The law of diminishing returns is something I really believe in.