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You have to know the classics if you want to cook modern food.

Tom Colicchio

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Tom Colicchio
Age: 62
Born: 1962
Born: August 15
Chef
Restaurateur
Elizabeth
New Jersey
Modern
Classics
Cook
Cooks
Food

More quotes by Tom Colicchio

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I'd like to see 'Top Chef: Amateur'. Sometimes we have an amateur chef on the show and they just can't cut it against the pros but there are some great stories there.
Tom Colicchio
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'Chef' doesn't mean that you're the best cook, it simply means 'boss.'
Tom Colicchio
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I think the patterns are set very early when the kids are young. But at the same time, there are some flavors kids just don't like.
Tom Colicchio
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A lot of professions happen to be male-dominated because women drop out at a certain point. It's unfortunate.
Tom Colicchio
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Every chef should have an understanding of pastries or desserts.
Tom Colicchio
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I think steak is the ultimate comfort food, and if you're going out for one, that isn't the time to scrimp on calories or quality.
Tom Colicchio
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I can't deal with a lot of spice but I have to eat it. I pay the price - I'm on medication for heartburn, so that's how I deal with it.
Tom Colicchio
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I travel around and hear from so many kids. Their parents say they were always very picky but they watch the show and they want to try stuff. The show is entertainment, but I think it has done so much for the public perception of what food can be.
Tom Colicchio
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Hunger is a political issue, and there are several things politically that are keeping people hungry - not funding food stamps adequately, not funding school lunches adequately. So there is a political solution to the problem of hunger.
Tom Colicchio
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Mushrooms can be very fancy. It's the closest you can get to eating dirt.
Tom Colicchio
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Asian food is very easy to like because it hits your mouth very differently than European food does. In European food, there may be two things to hit - maybe sweet and salty, maybe salty-savory, … but Asian kind of works around, plus you have that distinct flavor that’s usually working in Asian food.
Tom Colicchio
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Recipes tell you nothing. Learning techniques is the key.
Tom Colicchio
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A couple of months ago, I was down in Florida for the Food and Wine Festival. And this journalist grabbed me and said, 'How does it feel to be a TV guy? You're no longer in the restaurant business.' And I laughed. I asked him, 'How long do you think it takes me to do a season?' He said, 'Well, 200 days.' And I was like, '200 days? Try 20!'
Tom Colicchio
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Most cooks try to learn by making dishes. Doesnt mean you can cook. It means you can make that dish. When you can cook is when you can go to a farmers market, buy a bunch of stuff, then go home and make something without looking at a recipe. Now youre cooking.
Tom Colicchio
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I have very good knife skills. I learned to butcher on my second job - I was 18 years old. Every other day we would break down six legs of veal.
Tom Colicchio
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Too often, chefs just want to experiment - they want to use liquid nitrogen before they know how to use heat.
Tom Colicchio
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I don't really like money - I like the things you can buy with money.
Tom Colicchio
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Men with shaved heads are always better. Just ask my wife.
Tom Colicchio
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Im not a fan of grilling meat, since that tends to dry it out, and I find grill marks leave a bitter taste. A good steak house will offer different options for preparation, and I would ask them to broil or pan-roast the steak and finish it with butter. It ends up a dark chocolate color and stays very juicy.
Tom Colicchio
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I dont know too many parents that want to feed their kids soda, but high-fructose corn syrup is cheap. The price of soda in 20 years has gone down 40 percent while the price of whole foods, fruits and vegetables, has gone up 40 percent and obesity goes up right along that curve.
Tom Colicchio