When I'm home in L.A., I go to La Brea, a bakery which does artisan breads, excellent sourdoughs primarily, but also patisserie and cakes.
I am very lucky to consider many of my business associates friends. Some are closer than others, but I respect and value all of them.
Cooking is like fashion. Always, I like to try to change. If I'm traveling in a different country - to Australia, the Bahamas, Budapest, Moscow - and I see a new ingredient, I like to try it in a new dish.
My business partner Robert De Niro knows a lot about hotels; he opened the Greenwich Hotel in New York City.
Napa cabbage is very beautiful, all those long, pale leaves with ruffled edges.
One day, the people who work in my kitchen stir-fried chopped Napa cabbage to serve with some meat or fish for their own dinner. I got to thinking: 'What if the cabbage was the most important thing on the plate?'
I like both potatoes and rice. You can do a lot with both of them. But if I could eat only one carbohydrate for the rest of my life, I wouldn't choose bread, potatoes or even noodles. I'd go for rice instead; I eat more of that than anything else.
I remember watching steak being cooked on TV and wanting to try it. As a special treat, my mother cooked it for me, and I thought this would be the time I would eat with a knife and fork. Alas, I ate it with chopsticks!
My cooking is very simple, so I don't really use machines at all. A knife, cutting board, frying pan and strainer are my essentials.
The fine art of preparing sushi is something that you watch and learn.
When I set up my first restaurant, I was so inspired by Wolfgang Puck, who is also based in L.A. and is now a good friend of mine, and the way he would engage with his customers and greet them personally.
Sushi is something very exclusive. It is not like a McDonald's, not like a hot dog, not like a French fry. It's very high-class cooking in Japan.
I'm not perfect. I am not Iron Man.
Eating a lot on the plane is not good for jet lag.
One of my favorite ways to use cilantro is in a beautiful clear soup with monkfish and lime. It's a great dish for cooler weather, especially because monkfish is very good in fall and winter. Also, I like the meatiness and rich texture of monkfish.
I'm a lucky person because the company keeps growing, and that means my team keeps growing.
I like Mercedes because my wife has been in two big accidents and emerged without a scratch, thanks to the safety of these cars.
Have you ever been to Mexico City and haggled with the locals over souvenirs? Well, in Peru, you had to negotiate like that to get the freshest fish at the market.
Once I fell out of a tree and was hit by a motorbike. I still have the scar on my head now.
I eat soup noodles for comfort. In fact, noodles of any kind. It's a food that is very easy to eat; it's very soothing and comfortable, too. If I could choose any, I'd say buckwheat was my favourite: it has a very good flavour and is healthy, too.
