Now everybody thinks that once you do Top Chef, then 13 weeks later you're a chef. Nobody wants to learn to cook anymore.

For me, cooking is an expression of the land where you are and the culture of that place.

Now everybody thinks that once you do Top Chef, then 13 weeks later you're a chef. Nobody wants to learn to cook anymore.

I think it's really important to keep on staying motivated.

Television in the '80s was very limited. There was no Food Network. When I opened Spago, I had the kitchen in the dining hall. It was probably the first restaurant to do so. The dining scene became more casual. All these cooking shows have transformed our profession one-hundred percent.

A chef is a mixture maybe of artistry and craft. You have to learn the craft really to get there.

America has undergone a total food and wine revolution.