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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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Tom Colicchio
Age: 62
Born: 1962
Born: August 15
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More quotes by Tom Colicchio

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Every chef should have an understanding of pastries or desserts.
Tom Colicchio
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As a chef, I had started working with groups like Share Our Strength and various local food banks in New York, raising money for hunger-related issues. And not only me, but the entire restaurant industry has been very focused on this issue.
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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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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A steak needs fat to taste great.
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 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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One of the first jobs I ever had was opening clams in a seafood restaurant, so I'm pretty quick at it.
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 get angry when I think that people are blatantly incorrect on matters of fact.
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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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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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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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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It's my belief that cooking is a craft. I think that you can push it into the realm of art, but it starts with craft. It starts with an understanding of materials. It starts with an understanding of where foods are grown.
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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I can't deliver lines, but I can talk about food all night long.
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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'Chef' doesn't mean that you're the best cook, it simply means 'boss.'
Tom Colicchio