I wanted to work in a restaurant. Le Cirque was looking for a chef and they approached me. I was excited to be able to be part of this restaurant with an amazing reputation, but not a good one for food at the time. I made it clear that if I was coming to Le Cirque it was going to change.

I appreciate the constant evolution in refining food, but not in making food gimmicky.

I was at Plaza Athénée, where a jacket and tie was required. Andy Warhol came with his turtleneck, because he was always wearing a turtleneck, with a tie over it, and we gave him a jacket - so he had a jacket and tie over the turtleneck. It was pretty cool.

My favorite thing is when I go back and my mother cooks for me. Because it just throws me back the same flavor. And I try to modify things: I say, Why don't you do this and that? My mother is older, but she cooks a lot, and she doesn't want to change anything. She's a very good cook, and my grandmother was an amazing cook.

I learned from my grandmother, because we were cooking a lot for the farm. Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Loyal customers, or customers who recommend their friends, give me the most pride. I think that is the biggest compliment I can get. I think in the restaurant business, it takes patience from the customer to spark up a relationship with the restaurateur, but it takes also work from the restaurateur to spark up a relationship with his customer.

Remember, it is never the knife's fault.

From Japan to Thailand, I keep discovering amazing talent, cuisine and food markets.

After six years at Le Cirque, I decided to start my own business. I opened Daniel at 76th Street in May 93.

A lot of young chefs today get carried away by trends, by influences, by movements.

A lot of chefs don't have a natural sense of economy. I was with one guy the other day and I had to show him how to peel a turnip, because the way he was peeling turnips, he was throwing half of it in the garbage. It's not about being cheap. It's about being proper.

Boning is a pain, but it makes such a majestic chicken.

I am very concerned about nutrition and always try to be careful about what I eat.