Martin Yan

“I have a lot of cooking tools. In fact I have a whole drawer full of knives. Cooking tools, especially cutlery, are my toys.”

“I enjoy the quiet life.”

“I normally don't eat junk food.”

“First of all, I can't really claim to be a great chef.”

“Just like if you were brought up on a farm, you would most likely carry on your father's business as a farmer; I was brought up in the kitchen and ended up becoming a chef.”

“I think a lot of times it's not money that's the primary motivation factor; it's the passion for your job and the professional and personal satisfaction that you get out of doing what you do that motivates you.”

“You don't have to show people how successful you are.”

“People who don't travel cannot have a global view, all they see is what's in front of them. Those people cannot accept new things because all they know is where they live.”

“The problem with a lot of Chinese is that they put up divisions between Taiwanese, Hong Kong natives, mainlanders. We are never united. I really hope that the Chinese can be more united.”

“Some people never contribute anything positive to society, they may even drain our resources, but most of us try to do something better, to give back.”

“Chinese culture has a lot of virtues that are tremendously valuable to not only us as Asian-Americans, but also the world in general.”

“The hoopla, the applause, the praises have never excited me.”

“Anyone that has come to America past the age of eighteen will be able to understand when I say that you can never shake your accent.”

“I can represent my culture while helping not only the Chinese-American community, but also the community at large.”

“When you enjoy what you do, work becomes play.”

“When you have a good stock, you can make a good soup.”

“I think being famous is more of a hindrance, a constraint, than just letting yourself be free.”