What I was reading was already part of my psyche, but finally someone else was saying it's okay to walk alone.

A jazz musician can improvise based on his knowledge of music. He understands how things go together. For a chef, once you have that basis, that's when cuisine is truly exciting.

Excellence is about fighting and pursuing something diligently, with a strict and determined approach to doing it right. It's okay if there are flaws in the process - it makes it more interesting.

You have to be critical of what you do every day, to analyze it and be willing to push it further.

I love faltering. I love, in a sense, coming up short. Because you learn nothing from success. You learn so much from failing.

The art of cooking is among the most intimate things that we can do for another.

Chefs, as a whole, say yes to any project, fundraiser, or tasting because they have such a generous spirit.

I’m all about making money. It’s the greatest thing, because it means you get money to spend.

Fernand Point's philosophy instilled what cuisine is all about: generosity and hugeness of heart.

My fantasy is to have a restaurant where there are no written menus, but where you just ask people, What are you in the mood for? Fish? Meat? White wine?

It's a challenge to demonstrate that you can prepare some really interesting food with humble ingredients.

One heart cannot serve two masters.

He slowed down a bit more. "Gaia, how do you know these things?" She shrugged. "I'm smart." "And modest, too." "Modesty is a waste of time, " she pronounced. "I'll keep that in mind.

Schools can do extraordinary things given the chance teachers can do remarkable things if we eliminate the paperwork that sometimes binds them and give them a chance to really teach in our schools.

On the whole, my impression is that mercy bears richer fruits than any other attribute.

Fertility of the soil is the future of civilization.

Indeed, through fundamental advances in bionics in this century, we will set the technological foundation for an enhanced human experience, and we will end disability.

When I was young I was constantly reading walls; I took in everything written on walls, from love messages to political messages. It was my hobby and became my art.

I still like to keep all the love songs for the Grobanites, I like to make sure that they know those are just for them.

I need to learn every day.

California is like the Mecca of the film industry. Everyone's seen California.