My Last Meal On Earth, I Would

The Drive For Working Comes From Everyday Moments - The Thrill Of Experiencing A Young Cook Succeeding In What They Thought Was An Impossible Job, As Well As Guests Being Happy. I Also Love The Unknown - Discovering New Things And Trying To Make Sense Of Them.

I Started To Change. It Was Sort Of A Restaurant Mid-life Crisis, You Could Say. I Lost A Lot Of Confidence, Not So Much As A Father Or As A Friend, But As A Boss, As A Chef That's To Make Decisions Throughout The Day All The Time. I Just Slowly Started Burning Out. Once You Lose Your Confidence Like That, You Start Being Angry In The Kitchen. I Couldn't Recognize Myself Anymore. I Started Writing The Journal. It Was Never Meant To Be A Book, But The Editor At Phaidon Read Parts Of It. As Editors Do, I Guess.

Fine Dining Is An Occasional Treat For Most People.

21 Years Ago When I Started Cooking, To Be A Cook Meant That You Were Going To Stay In The Basement. Being A Chef, You Would Never Be On A Book Tour. You Could Never Dream That 20 Years Later On You Would Be On A Book Tour. It Wasn't A Part Of Your Dreams Because It Was Just Totally Unrealistic. When Did Cooks - Restaurant Cooks, Not Cooks That Have 15,000 Television Shows - When Did Cooks Become Part Of Pop Culture The Way They Are?

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.