My parents couldnt be looser. It was the ultimate laissez faire upbringing.

My fantasy is to have a restaurant where there are no written menus, but where you just ask people, What are you in the mood for? Fish? Meat? White wine?

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 love faltering. I love, in a sense, coming up short. Because you learn nothing from success. You learn so much from failing.

Well, I kind of think that the opposite is true. The customer is rarely right. And that is why you must seize the control of the circumstance and dominate every last detail: to guarantee that they're going to have a far better time than they ever would have had if they tried to control it themselves.

I wasnt using college as a stepping stone to law school or some other career. I just wanted a liberal-arts education.

Fernand Point's philosophy instilled what cuisine is all about: generosity and hugeness of heart.

I’m all about making money. It’s the greatest thing, because it means you get money to spend.

I have always looked at it this way: If you strive like crazy for perfection - an all-out assault on total perfection - at the very least you will hit a high level of excellence, and then you might be able to sleep at night. To accomplish something truly significant, excellence has to become a life plan.

Always make stock in a large quantity and freeze it in plastic bags. That way, when you want to make a nice soup or boil veggies, you can simply pull the bag out of the freezer.