My favorite thing is Spaghetti with white clam sauce anywhere on the Amalfi Coast or the Tuscan Coast.

I liked the energy of cooking, the action, the camaraderie. I often compare the kitchen to sports and compare the chef to a coach. There are a lot of similarities to it.

Brussels sprouts are misunderstood - probably because most people don't know how to cook them properly.

Turkey, unlike chicken, has very elegant characteristics. It has more of a cache than chicken. Turkey is a delicacy, so it should be presented in such a way.

Spices are very hot, very hip. I love spices. I've always loved the Mediterranean flavors.

They want to go to the bar and eat a few snacks, have a couple of cocktails or glasses of wine, and go home. People don't sit down at the table and have a whole three or four courses.

We have a training period; we have certain guidelines and structure. You can't hire talented people and stifle them. That's not the way it works anymore.

It's wild how chefs have become like rock stars.

Read an hour every day in your chosen field. This works out to about one book per week, fifty books per year, and will guarantee your success.

In the course of my life, I have often had to eat my words, and I must confess that I have always found it a wholesome diet.

As long as it’s an every man for himself kind of world, men will always be for themselves. - Mayor Bentley in 'Tilt

There is no point to samba if it doesn't make you smile.

I really believe in the environmental movement right now - it only takes a little effort to make a big difference.

If a good editor will let me tell my story with the right artist, I'm happy.

Words cannot be remote from reality when they create reality.

The creative process; I enjoy thinking up the stories and situations for my books.

A paranoiac, like a poet, is born, not made.

Dreams do come true, believe always. I dreamt every night of becoming a singer