The law of diminishing returns is something I really believe in.

Now the restaurants have begun to catch up with the wine-making; there are numerous great restaurants in Napa Valley, and it's wonderful because the people are there for just that: great food and great wine.

Some of the recipes in the book have evolved for us. Many haven't.

I like to drink young wines, wines which are robust and have a lot of forward fruit to them.

You're getting to know who the great chefs are through their books.

Once you understand the foundations of cooking - whatever kind you like, whether it's French or Italian or Japanese - you really don't need a cookbook anymore.

We go through our careers and things happen to us. Those experiences made me what I am.

Let's face it: if you and I have the same capabilities, the same energy, the same staff, if the only thing that's different between you and me is the products we can get, and I can get a better product than you, I'm going to be a better chef.

My childhood wasn't full of wonderful culinary memories.

Then, as the day progresses, depending on how the product is coming in - for instance, the fish man will fax us and say black bass is great - throughout the day, we'll also make judgment calls and adapt to what's available.

I hope the cooks who are working for me now are getting that kind of experience so they can use what they're learning now as a foundation for a great career.

It's one thing you aspire to: someday, you'll be able to write a book.

Your idea of that dish has evolved, and if you're a cook, you can start thinking in different ways about it, maybe even a different way than I think about it.

Food should be fun.

But once in a while you might see me at In and Out Burger; they make the best fast food hamburgers around.

In any restaurant of this caliber, the chefs are in the same position, building relationships.

My favorite wines are Zinfandels.

I drank more wine when I wasn't working as much, to be honest.

The law of diminishing returns is something I really believe in.

I think every young cook wants to write a book.

Hopefully, imparting what's important to me, respect for the food and that information about the purveyors, people will realize that for a restaurant to be good, so many pieces have to come together.

They know what my standards are. They know what I need and how to get it to me, and they know how to communicate with me if for some reason they can't get it.

A kaiseki meal is like that, very small courses over a long period of time.

When I go out to eat, it's usually something moderate in style.

We rely on our purveyors to tell us what's available and what's good.

Whether it's destiny or fate or whatever, I don't think I could do a French Laundry anywhere else.

It wasn't about mechanics; it was about a feeling, wanting to give someone something, which in turn was really gratifying. That really resonated for me.

I have no formal culinary training, right.

I wanted to learn everything I could about what it takes to be a great chef. It was a turning point for me.

No, it's funny, when I eat out it's not typically in the kind of restaurants people might imagine.

I wanted to write about what we were doing at the French Laundry, the recipes and the stories.

The book is there for inspiration and as a foundation, the fundamentals on which to build.

In any restaurant of this caliber the chefs are in the same position building relationships.

Youre getting to know who the great chefs are through their books.

Once you understand the foundations of cooking whatever kind you like whether its French or Italian or Japanese you really dont need a cookbook anymore.

You have to be driven. You have to be focused. You have to be aware.

A recipe has no soul. You as the cook must bring soul to the recipe.

There is no executive order; there is no law that can require the American people to form a national community. This we must do as individuals and if we do it as individuals, there is no President of the United States who can veto that decision.

Under current law volunteers who are not working with an official nonprofit organization are not covered by the Volunteer Protection Act. Therefore, there are absolutely no legal protections for the average American who wishes to volunteer.

When law becomes despotic, morals are relaxed, and vice versa.

Every dictator is an enemy of freedom, an opponent of law.

To believe in a just law of cause and effect, carrying with it a punishment or a reward, is to believe in righteousness.

For example, UNICEF works with governments to change legislation such as in India where a law was passed raising the age of compulsory school completion to keep children in school and away from the workplace for longer.

In Hungary, acting is a career for which one fits himself as earnestly as one studies for a degree in medicine, law, or philosophy.

Working-class Americans have waited too long, close to a decade in fact, for an increase in the minimum wage. This has been the second longest period without a pay raise since the Federal minimum wage law was first enacted in 1938.

The law is immoral.

It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.

No law or ordinance is mightier than understanding.

There are certain promises you make that are more sacred than anything that happens in a court of law, I don't care how many Bibles you put your hand on.