Chefs Quotes

“I've discovered the burger is a crazy thing in Vegas, but I was one of the early chefs to do a lot of burgers.”

“Japanese chefs believe our soul goes into our knives once we start using them. You wouldn't put your soul in a dishwasher!”

“I love food and lots of my friends are chefs. I love dishes from my Russian-Polish Jewish heritage. I like to make a big pot of meat and vegetable soup, and for dessert it's anything with chocolate.”

“I have a huge collection of cookery books, like most chefs. do I regularly revisit Michel Roux Snr's 'The Collection,' particularly for the precise recipes and because the food photography is simply beautiful.”

“The Brits like to see their local chefs do well - when a foreign chef comes in - even Joel Robuchon - they are harshly critical.”

“I think what I do differently from a lot of TV chefs is that I break down barriers and make fine food more accessible to the regular person, who might be intimidated. I try hard, particularly with wine, to make it not intimidating. It's sort of a teaching job.”

“One really interesting thing for me was learning about kitchen etiquette, and the differences between an Indian kitchen and a French one. They're different in atmosphere, and also in how chefs maneuver within them.”

“Don't put too many chefs to work. Sometimes they get too involved in the ingredients and are of no help.”

“I like the fact that Melbourne always seems to support their chefs and promote them in ways I find really admirable.”

“When I'm back in New York - and this is a terrible thing to complain about - I eat a lot more really, really good food than perhaps I'd like to. So many of my friends are really good chefs. It's kind of like being in the Mafia.”

“On 'Sweet Genius,' you have to be tough with the chefs, but my goal was to guide them and choose the genius who will win $10,000 - not a bad sum at all for one day's work.”

“Chefs don't use white pepper just to avoid spoiling the whiteness of pommes puree or bechamel. It has a more peppery aroma, with sharpness and sweetness, too.”

“It's good to get to know a bunch of other chefs because I like to cook, but I'm no chef. I can learn a lot of things from them.”

“I call all chefs 'cooks.' They're all cooks. That's what we do, we cook. You're a chef when you're running a kitchen.”

“All chefs are like Jewish mothers. They want to feed you and feed you and impress you. It's an eagerness to please.”

“Many of them have accomplished a lot before they ever get to 'Top Chef' although they're not well known. The show just provides them with a platform. There's just one winner and on some seasons you can get numerous chefs that are really good. Even if they don't win, they're all talented.”

“Chefs have only been able to work in restaurants, high-end cuisine. Why? Why haven't they been able to find other scenarios? For those chefs who want to do avant-garde cuisine, should they be finding their income in a restaurant?”

“My biggest bit of advice would be to spend some time actually helping caterers or Chefs, even if it has to be for free or as an intern of culinary externship. It helps immerse yourself in what you potentially want to do.”

“I still cook at home. A lot of chefs I think don't cook at home. But I still do, I love cooking at home, I love having friends.”

“My biggest role models are not chefs, but women like Coco Chanel, Simone de Beauvoir, Nina Simone.”