David Chang

“I love to eat sushi, and, you know, those flavors and wasabi and really eating spoonfuls of it... I would just mix it and put it on everything, literally.”

“I find that there are a lot of similarities between French and Japanese food. I think they're two countries that have really systemized their cuisine and codified it.”

“Be careful what you wish for - getting to be a successful business and maintaining it is so hard. Anyone can be good one night; being good over several years is incredibly difficult.”

“To eat well, I always disagree with critics who say that all restaurants should be fine dining. You can get a Michelin star if you serve the best hamburger in the world.”

“I hate to say 'chain restaurant,' but we're sort of a corporation now. How do we defy that concept, where people assume each restaurant can't be good?”

“I'm a big sports fan.”

“I work so hard that I forget to take care of myself.”

“People are trying to figure out what American food is; it's certainly an amalgamation.”

“There are many things to admire about Japan but this is the one thing I love the most and probably the only time I eat breakfast. Fish, eggs, soup, salad, veggies; all in the tiniest bites. It's a full meal, but it's so refreshing.”

“I doubt I'd ever do television to the extent that, say, Gordon Ramsay has.”

“Running a business anywhere isn't easy.”

“I think that the Japanese - and I do love Japanese cuisine and adore Japanese food culture - I think that they're going to plow through the entire world's fishing. They're going to eat everything anyways.”

“When I first started to cook, I would cook these elaborate meals, but I rarely cook at home now.”

“People don't think that bread is part of Asian culture or Asian food culture, but it's quite prevalent in Northern China, and you see it throughout Japan and as you go to Taiwan.”

“If you ask what people say what American cuisine is, they cannot really do it. I don't know what it is.”

“The one reason why I got into cooking was because I wasn't good at anything else - not that I was good at it, but it was considered honest work.”

“Contemporary ramen is totally different than what most Americans think ramen should be. Ramen is not one thing; there are many, many different types.”

“Chef Thomas Keller was an inspiration to me and many, many young cooks like me. He told us that the role of the new, modern chef is different.”

“If people ask me, 'What do you think could improve in Toronto dining,' I'd say there's nothing to improve on.”