We’re fragile, fragmented souls who are very sensitive to criticism.
If I relaxed, if I took my foot off the gas, I would probably die.
I act on impulse and I go with my instincts.
The problem with Yanks is they are wimps.
I’m quite a chauvinistic person.
I don’t think it’s a good advert for any restaurant, a fat chef, and secondly, who wants to eat a dessert when the chef’s a fat pig.
You know how arrogant the French are – extraordinary.
I didn’t get depressed, I don’t get depressed.
The secret is to make sure the business is running to perfection, with or without me.
I grew up in a funny way.
I am well aware that a chef is only as good as his last meal.
My father was a swim teacher. We used to swim before school, swim after school.
I’m not critic-proof, and I still take it personally, but I take it less personally now.
I’m not trying to take New York by storm. I just want to sneak in there, keep my head down, batten down the hatches and cook.
We are about creating a new wave of talent. We are the Manchester United of kitchens now. Am I playing full-time in the kitchen? I am a player-coach.
It’s very hard when you eat out every day for a living, and a new restaurant comes along and you haven’t got that same vigour that you had 10 years ago.
I won’t let people write anything they want to about me.
I came up from a difficult background.
It’s vulgar, coming from where I do, to talk about money.
I quite like that jeopardy, those up-against-the-wall odds. I don’t like it when it’s over-comfortable, too easy, something that can be done in two or three weeks. I like a challenge.