Chef Quotes

“I'm not impressed by any cooks who can brag about a filet mignon. A guy who can take the neck of a shank or can use tripe to make into something delicious is really interesting to me; that's impressive.”

“Thinking of getting into the leg-breaking business, so I can profitably sell crutches later.”

“Food is everything we are. It's an extension of nationalist feeling, ethnic feeling, your personal history, your province, your region, your tribe, your grandma. It's inseparable from those from the get-go.”

“Only Texans and Jews understand brisket”

“One of life's terrible truths is that women like guys who seem to know what they're doing.”

“I'm not searching for hard news; I'm not a journalist, but I'm interested in pushing to boundaries of where we can do the kind of stories that we want to do. I mean, it's a big world and CNN has made it a lot bigger and they haven't flinched.”

“An employer of mine back in the '80s was kind enough to take me on after a rough patch, and it made a big difference in my life that I knew I was the sort of person who showed up on time. It's a basic tell of character.”

“I don't think people should be encouraged to look like Kate Moss; I think that's unreasonable. I think the normal human body should be glorified. By the same token, if you need a stick to wash yourself, you're not healthy.”

“I do the meatball recipe a lot. I think the army stew probably too. It's the most useful dish because it was born out of necessity and poverty and any idiot can make it in 20 minutes on a hot plate. It's cheap and uses readily available commercial ingredients. And it's delicious. It should be the great American dish - perfect late-night stoner dorm food for college kids on a budget.”

“An ounce of sauce covers a multitude of sins.”

“I'm not trying to explain other cultures, or to give a fair and balanced account of a country, or the top ten things you need to know. I'm not trying to spread world peace and understanding. I'm not an advocate or an activist or an educator or a journalist. I'm out there trying to tell stories the best I can.”

“I'd learned something... Food had power. It could inspire, astonish, shock, excite, delight and impress. It had the power to please me... and others. This was valuable information.”

“Writing anything is a treason of sorts.”

“A burger is something anyone can do, just follow the rules.”

“If I'm an advocate for anything, it's to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river. The extent to which you can walk in someone else's shoes or at least eat their food, it's a plus for everybody. Open your mind, get up off the couch, move.”

“Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life - and travel - leaves marks on you. Most of the time, those marks - on your body or on your heart - are beautiful. Often, though, they hurt.”

“I am very much enjoying the fatherhood phase of my life.”

“Luck is not a business model.”

“The older I get, and the more I travel in particular, the less I care about what exactly is in the dish than who's cooking it and why.”

“You learn a lot about someone when you share a meal together.”

“My family is very far from normal.”

“I'm really good at sleeping on planes. I mean, I smell jet fuel and I'm out; I'm asleep for takeoff.”

“I'm excited by any food that's prepared by someone who's proud of what they're doing, who puts a personal imprint on food.”

“At the end of the day, the TV show is the best job in the world. I get to go anywhere I want, eat and drink whatever I want. As long as I just babble at the camera, other people will pay for it. It's a gift.”

“Cream rises. Excellence does have its rewards.”