Italian food is all about ingredients and it's not fussy and it's not fancy.

I want to teach people how to do it the right way. And it is from that they can teach their children how to do it properly. It will teach them how to cook better and healthier at home.

I think I generally try to buy the best quality and keep it simple. I don't try to make too many decorations, too many things with it.

Thirty-five years ago, being a cook was the same as being a used-car salesman.

The usage of proper salt is really just a small piece of education. However, I want people to really get the proper nutrition from food for them and their family.

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.

Restaurants are like having children: its fun to make them, maybe, but then you have them for good and bad. You are going to have to raise them and if something goes wrong when they are 30 years old, they will still be your little boy.