"There's no media training. In cooking school, there's not even manager training. You learn the fundamentals of cooking. Everything else is learning by doing."

"When you get close to the raw materials and taste them at the moment they let go of the soil, you learn to respect them."

"Learning about issues such as sustainability and locavorism are things that you need to have as part of you as a chef because it will make you cook more delicious food."

"People will travel anywhere for good food - it's crazy."

"I made a crash landing here on Earth on February 14, 1962, in the Shreveport Catholic Charities Home for un-wed mothers. The infamous Bonnie and Clyde lost their lives just miles from where I was born. Like outlaws ourselves, my birth mother and I were on the run from the day she found out I was part of her."

"The thing is, I have a zillion apps, and I'm always looking for the perfect arrangement for them, so scrambling my home screen is part of that eternal quest."

"An artist has no home in Europe except in Paris."

"Bleak House is just the most astounding piece of work. There's huge, visionary poetry in it."