Often for hors d'oeuvres, I serve room temperature vegetables, something like that, so that the main course might be quite rich but the first course has balanced it out.

Confit is the ultimate comfort food, and trendy or not, it is dazzling stuff.

Using lots of fresh foods, fruits and vegetables, helps to keep the menu buoyant - I don't know if that's the right word, but it keeps a balance of freshness and health.

I also think it's very important to consider how the food will feel to the person eating it.

To write a book about improvisation is partly a contradiction in terms. Improvisation is spontaneous. It's in the moment.

Generally a chef's book is like a calling card or a portfolio to display their personal work.

But all that being said about modulation, if you're serving people delicious food, they won't complain.

I was working in restaurants as a captain and as a waiter.

I'm a serious eater and a seriously hungry person, so I set out on that path to figure it out for myself, and of course it really resonated with other people.

A lot of people who want to cook with less fat are surprised by that. You can cook vegetables in a little water in a covered pan and then throw the fat into the residual liquid to coat them.

You don't have to stick with these recipes. They're guides. As I say, they're a way in. Have fun with them. It's an easier way to cook in a busy life, once you get the hang of it.

Admire all the stars, but what you really must admire is your very own Sun, the cosmic candle of our beloved Earth!

Husbands don't really count ... in the miracle of birth.

Marriage Asian-style is practical, contractual and, to the western mind, deeply unromantic.

I obviously bring all of my insecurities along with me to any role that I tackle.

Vision is the ability to see God’s presence, to perceive God’s power, to focus on God’s plan in spite of the obstacles.

I like being able to do anything. I think that's healthy, doing anything and everything, rather than just getting completely obsessed with one particular genre or particular kind of work.

The uptake on mobile phones in Africa is phenomenal.

You realize that suicide's a criminal offense. In less enlightened times they'd have hung you for it.

All that God had to do to harden Pharaoh's heart, or to harden your heart, is to withhold His own grace.

The gods are fugitive guests of literature.