I think that you’ve got to make something that pleases you and hope that other people feel the same way.
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.
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.
I have no formal culinary training, right.
My childhood wasn't full of wonderful culinary memories.
The law of diminishing returns is something I really believe in.
I drank more wine when I wasn't working as much, to be honest.
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.
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.
The book is there for inspiration and as a foundation, the fundamentals on which to build.
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.
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.
I wanted to write about what we were doing at the French Laundry, the recipes and the stories.
Whether it's destiny or fate or whatever, I don't think I could do a French Laundry anywhere else.
A kaiseki meal is like that, very small courses over a long period of time.
I wanted to learn everything I could about what it takes to be a great chef. It was a turning point for me.
My favorite wines are Zinfandels.
I like to drink young wines, wines which are robust and have a lot of forward fruit to them.
