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.

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.

I did work out every day. I needed it to have the endurance to do what needed to be done and not get hurt. I have such a new respect for action stars now.

I mean the only thing that is hopefully good about us is after the arguments we can actually still face each other the next day or the day after and talk about something else and sort of get over it.

My favorite singer to this day is Nat King Cole. I've tried to emulate his phrasing. It is so absolutely beautiful to listen to his lovely voice.

I want to have babies one day but not right now. When I do it I want to do it really well. I want it to be my best project in life.

I think I've become a much better singer and a much better player. Years and years of playing a couple of hours every day will do that.

I am tomorrow, or some future day, what I establish today. I am today what I established yesterday or some previous day.

I just wrote one song at a time. Kinda like an alcoholic. One day at a time.

Working mothers do an hour more per day than working fathers do and working mothers do on average an hour more per day with the kids than working fathers do.

When it is time to get to work, I go away completely and don't do anything except the work. And that can be 16 hours a day.

George Pal had total control, and he was there on the set every day. You never met a more charming man in your entire lifetime - what a lovely gentleman.

I'll tell you what I did need to learn was tolerance, and I think I've been actually given a daily opportunity to practice that, and it's - it's - and I know that that sounds almost like a backhanded slap, and it is in a way because I haven't been successful at it every day.

Since the beginning, I always loved the game. When you grow up in Montreal, one day you want to be a professional hockey player. When I was six or seven, I knew that was what I wanted.