Jean-Georges Vongerichten Quotes

I arrived in New York in 1986, when I was 28. The market here was nothing. In the Union Square farmers' market, it was a couple of potatoes, everything from California. So the only place I was comfortable shopping was in Chinatown, because it all came from Hong Kong.

Cooking at home is easier than cooking in the restaurant because you don't have to write a menu or try to please everybody.

For people in London, Asian flavors are always part of the culture, more than in New York.

I love creating new things. It's difficult to be creative once a restaurant's open. People want the same dishes. For me, the creativity is in opening a new place and starting a new menu.

I cook every day for six hours. It's my therapy. My love.

If we put a vinaigrette together, every part of it is weighed. For the burger, we do a bit of arugula, olive oil - everything is weighed. To the gram.

There is so much more vegetable use in Thailand, India and China than meat. Yes, when you go to the markets or buy street food, you see shrimp or chicken - but mostly vegetables.

I grew up near Strasbourg in Alsace, where my family were coal merchants.

My presence in California will bring a new, inspiring culinary environment to life, and I'm delighted to share my creative techniques and evolving fresh ideas with the Beverly Hills community.

I love Sunday lunches with the family that start at 1 P.M. and finish at 5 P.M.

When I arrived in New York, I was at the Drake hotel for five years; so, yeah, I really miss hotels. It's like having friends stay at your home. Every day you get to treat them, not only to dinner, but for breakfast, and everything throughout the day.

My two essential ingredients are chilies, any kind, dried or fresh; and acid, whether it's citrus - lemon, lime, yuzu - or vinegars. Food has to pop.

Pound Ridge is about five miles from our country house. When you go every weekend for the last ten years without fail, well, that starts to feel like a home.

I eat everything. I still like to go to Peter Luger once in a while.

A chef and a restaurateur are different jobs: One is about pleasing people with what's on the plate; the other is about understanding the market. I'm a chef, but I think I'm a savvy businessperson, too.

For my 16th birthday, my family took me to L'Auberge de L'Ill, which was family-run but had three Michelin stars. It was a revelation. After that meal, I realised this is what I want to do.

When I went to London, they told me I spoke with a funny accent - English with a Chinese accent.

I drink a lot of juice and eat a lot of vegetables.

Food for me has to pop, and at Spice Market, the food really pops.

In the morning, we sliced all the vegetables and layered everything up in a pot with a glass of Riesling. On the way to church, we dropped it off with the baker, who sealed the lid with a strip of dough and put it in his oven for a couple of hours. We picked it up at 12 o'clock and took it home to eat with mustard and salad.

I spent seven years in France. Then, I went to Asia for five years. I came to London in 1984 and then America in 1985. In 1991, I opened my first restaurant in New York City.

My father was in the coal and heating business, and he wanted me to take over his business, and I resented every moment of it. So I would never force my kids to do what I do.

The toughest decision is always whether to open a restaurant. Two or three bad months, and you could be out of business.

I grew up in Alsace - in Strasbourg, by the canal; the family business was coal handling. It was still in the days when three generations would live under the same roof. There were 15 people for lunch, 20 for dinner.

The role of a chef isn't to reinvent dishes but to tweak.

I am a huge supporter of the Waxman foundation.

My kitchen in New York City is in the Richard Meier building on Perry Street, so it's ultra-modern: white, glass and transparent. It's 180 square feet, with an induction stove. Everything's hidden, so you don't see the microwave or the fridge.

The house is always full, and we're always cooking - outside, inside, for six, eight, a dozen, 20 people.

I think we're always going to be based in New York. So I would say 50 percent New York and the other 50 percent around the world.

My mother worked in a chocolate factory, so when I came home from school, I had a piece of baguette with dark chocolate in it. I remember her smelling like chocolate.