Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
The hardest thing about being a full time chef is leaving my work behind when I go home at night. I'll toss and turn about a menu item or forget to order produce and wake up at 4 A.M. in a cold sweat over some artichokes.
Dione Lucas has been obscured by larger-than-life personalities like Julia Child, but she had it going on. She is like the horse that came in second place, whose name we can't remember. It takes more than just one horse to make a race.
If I am making a spice rub or a spice mix for a braise or even just to crust a piece of fish, I'll use mustard seeds. If you soak them in a little bit of vinegar and let them get plumped and soft and then you puree them, they're delicious.
I think we love bacon because it has all the qualities of an amazing sensory experience. When we cook it, the sizzling sound is so appetizing, the aroma is maddening, the crunch of the texture is so gratifying and the taste delivers every time.
I like Bobby Flay's attitude and his approach towards food. I think he's just passionate and very honest. I find him very honest about food and cooking and ingredients and I admire that because I think that it's easy to get away from that for various reasons.
I've thrown vanilla beans into mustard. Nothing crazy or grainy, just normal dijon. It's great for duck. Smear some of that right on the duck, coupled with some roast plums, and it all comes together in that savory over sweet over savory over sweet way we all love.
I have to be honest and say that I never really feel like there's one person that I really want to cook for. I just want my food to always get better and always be evolving and for there to always be movement in what I make. I would say I strive for that more than anything else.
My most memorable meal was with my parents at Joel Robuchon's Restaurant Jamin in Paris. It was Christmas 1982, and the flavors - from cauliflower and caviar to crab and tomato - astounded me. It was the first time I remember thinking that I would like to really learn how to cook.
I exercise at a great gym and do dance classes mixed with some calisthenics. I really enjoy that because it reminds me of '80s aerobics. It's fun! I also bike ride, or sometimes I swim. Because I stand a lot, I don't really like to walk long distances. Running or jogging is out of the question.
I think unadulterated products and smaller portion sizes mean consumption of less food overall. Portion is everything. The first time I bought a scoop of ice cream in Paris, they weighed the ice cream on a scale before putting it on the cone. It was so small, it fell into the cone as she handed it to me.
I like to take a day off and enjoy fast food for what it is. I have to say that in New York, I'm really partial about taco trucks. I mean, I really can't handle it. There is something about catching all those ingredients piled on top of each other: it puts me in a tizzy. I love it. I'm kind of a taco truck junkie.
There's not enough time in each day to really focus enough attention on any one thing, but I'm doing my best. I have a great group of people who support me, and I don't sleep a lot. It's like I'm on a constantly spinning merry-go-round, and every day, I'm wondering when it will stop so I can get off. I love what I do, so that helps a lot.