My reasons for becoming a chef are somewhat of a cliche. I always loved to eat but it was watching my parents cook that really served as the impetus for my career choice.

Winter blues are cured every time with a potato gratin paired with a roast chicken.

The best way to learn to cook is to do some serious eating.

Food is ever-changing and ever moving forward and getting more and more complex.

Creative risks will always outweigh technical mistakes.

Give yourself enough time to really learn how to cook.

The hardest thing for me is restraint.

The better the ingredients, the more farmers I can buy from, the closer I feel to the food I want to make that represents what I care about as a chef.

I woke up on May 15, 1991, the day of my Barnard graduation, and I said to myself, 'By the end of today you will decide what you want to do with the rest of your life.'

For me no good food is illuminated without acidity.

I don't show just anyone how to crust a sea bass. That's sacred information.

The big turning point, really, was the Beatles' influence on American folk music, and then Roger took it to the next step, and then along came the Lovin' Spoonful and everybody else.

I am not a collector of deserts!

I'm actually very sensitive to energies, and when people are not aligned, I can feel that.

In a way, I started out to be a baritone player.

I couldn't imagine, and I don't say this with any pride, but I really couldn't imagine writing without a desperate deadline.

I'm thrilled to have a completely new audience that I can get from Court TV, without it being my own trial. That was the only other way I would have gotten it.

I've always loved boxing. It's something I've always been extremely excited about.

Establish enigmas, not explanations.

Texas mystique (has been) created by the chemistry of the frontier in the crucible of history and forged into an enduring state of heart and mind.

To give life a meaning, one must have a purpose larger than self.