My parents couldn't be looser. It was the ultimate laissez faire upbringing.
A quarter century of running a restaurant - that's a long time to do one thing.
I wasn't using college as a stepping stone to law school or some other career. I just wanted a liberal-arts education.
I have a certain point of view, a certain way to plate food, certain ingredients that I like to use.
I would always be embarrassed to read out loud in class because I would transpose words and letters and things.
When I graduated I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, but I knew I didn't want a conventional career.
If you ever want to get anywhere in life, you're going to have to push it, and somebody's going to push you to get there. End of story.
A jazz musician can improvise based on his knowledge of music. He understands how things go together. For a chef, once you have that basis, that's when cuisine is truly exciting.
I've always been a little crazy.
To me, searching for perfection isn't anywhere near as interesting as trying to find your own voice.
I love faltering. I love, in a sense, coming up short. Because you learn nothing from success. You learn so much from failing.
I worked in 40 restaurants over a five-year period.
As tough as I've been on anybody, as hard as I've ever been on anybody, I have been harder on myself. By far.
I am actually a very gentle person.
My plan is to work on a master's in philosophy.
I never considered Miles Davis a perfectionist; I always considered him as an excellence-ist, where deviation is actually kind of cool.
I believe in focusing on details.
If people give me a year or two of their best effort, then I am their friend for life.
What I was reading was already part of my psyche, but finally someone else was saying it's okay to walk alone.
One must know combinations, one must have a true knowledge of food to be in the moment.
You know the old adage that the customer's always right? Well, I kind of think that the opposite is true. The customer is rarely right.
Chefs, as a whole, say yes to any project, fundraiser, or tasting because they have such a generous spirit.
