Young people want to be famous before they know how to cook, before they know how to treat people, before they know what hospitality means. I stayed in France for seven years and Austria for three, so before I was a chef anywhere I was already cooking for 10 years.

New Yorkers think they have everything, all the best art and music. But really L.A. is a better place.

I like to be firm. But it is easier to be nice than to be nasty.

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.

I love strong flavors too. Like I don't mind if it looks clean and clear and you know what you are eating if it has Italian, Chinese or Japanese flavor I love them all.

Omelets are about technique. Now, different people make it different ways, but, if you're a chef in Europe, an omelet has to be cooked on the outside, with just a simmer of color, and the inside has to be soft. It should be cooked like a steak - medium rare.

Only you can judge your life. You have to live up to your own expectations.