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.

One of the things I've found now, not just for television, but in the restaurant, is that you have many anxious chefs, who know how to cook twenty recipes really well, but they don't have a good foundation for other things.

It's easier being a judge than a competitor. As a judge, you don't have any risks. That makes it much more enjoyable.

Food television opened the eyes, and palates, of our guests. They became more adventurous.

I grew up so poor in Austria that we never took a vacation with my family.

The most important thing for me is to really buy the best ingredient.

Don't go and cook Indian food if you never cooked Indian food, you know?