Charlie Trotter

“There has been no great surprise, no sudden revelation. I knew pretty much what I was getting into. What I've learned is that a restaurant can be as much of an art as you want it to be, but it has to be a successful business first.”

“Chefs, as a whole, say yes to any project, fundraiser, or tasting because they have such a generous spirit.”

“I am actually a very gentle person.”

“I would always be embarrassed to read out loud in class because I would transpose words and letters and things.”

“I got on a Dostoyevsky kick right after college. I started with 'Crime and Punishment,' went on to 'The Possessed' and then 'The Brothers Karamazov' and 'The Idiot.'”

“What I was reading was already part of my psyche, but finally someone else was saying it's okay to walk alone.”

“The most successful food, I think, is food that both appeals to the super-sophisticated diner or foodie and to the lay diner at the same time.”

“Sometimes I think I should have chosen a line of work where it was just me alone in the room, with the sun coming in, and God, insofar as he or she exists, smiling down upon me. Then I would have never been accused of being a tyrant, other than towards myself.”

“I have a certain point of view, a certain way to plate food, certain ingredients that I like to use.”

“I was always inspired by restaurants like La Tulipe in Manhattan. You'd walk right by and say, 'Oh what a lovely house.' You didn't realize there was a restaurant behind the door.”

“Life's too short. You may be on this planet for 80 years at best or who knows, but you can't just pedal around and do the same thing forever.”

“I love faltering. I love, in a sense, coming up short. Because you learn nothing from success. You learn so much from failing.”

“I don't understand people who spend their twenties hanging out in bars and going to football game. That stuff is so boring compared to really applying yourself to what you do.”

“If you go around the kitchen and ask my employees what they want to be doing in three to five years, most of them, if they're being honest, will tell you that they don't want to be working for me. They want to have their own place. And I think that's great.”

“I've always been a little crazy.”

“A quarter century of running a restaurant - that's a long time to do one thing.”

“It's a challenge to demonstrate that you can prepare some really interesting food with humble ingredients.”

“I couldn't really relate to the fraternity or party scene, to the people out in the mall every day protesting one thing or another. I felt like there was no one I could relate to.”

“If you know what you're doing, you can make a meal happen with any kitchen knife. But using a top-quality knife versus a low-quality one is the difference between driving a Jaguar and a VW Jetta across the country. They'll both get you there. But the Jaguar will give you a much smoother ride.”

“I have a goal so lofty it's almost embarrassing to talk about. And that's to be the best restaurant in the world.”