Wisdom worth sharing, words worth remembering.
Music is one of those things that is constantly going in my head all the time. It's sort of like the evolution and creation of doing food or my philosophy about wine. It's always beating in my head so it keeps the spirit moving.
I guess I feel that I was following my instincts and at the same time being guided by the best. I became totally intrigued with Louisiana – the people the food. It is a part of my life. Everything that has happened for me since moving here has just been icing on the cake.
Start with a clean grill. Keep it clean by brushing with a wire brush after preheating and again after cooking. Make sure to oil your grates and your food before putting it on the grill to keep it from sticking.
I'm working harder than ever now and I'm putting on my pants the same as I always have. I just get up every day and try to do a little better than the day before and that is to run a great restaurant with great food great wine and great service. That's my philosophy.
My philosophy from day one is that I can sleep better at night if I can improve an individual's knowledge about food and wine and do it on a daily basis.
We'll be going to the fish market and a farmer's market this afternoon to get what we need to make and eat dinner as a family. I'm trying to expose my kids to going to a farmers market or the fish market and learning what that's all about.
My family… always had the value of the family table and these cultural influences of growing up.
You go to a restaurant in the States and kids have these game boards at the table. You don't see that in Italy or Spain. It's not because they can't afford to buy them it's because that's not what eating together as a family is about.
You know in 1975 I couldn't get a job in New York City because I was American. The kitchens were predominantly run by French Swiss German and basically I got laughed at. I had education I had experience but got laughed at because I was American.
I spent a lot of time on farms when I was young. My uncle and my dad owned a big farm.
The cool thing is that now that people have made this evolution where cooking is cool people are doing it on weekends they're doing their own challenges. It's back to cooking. And it's real cooking.
You know for 300 years it's been kind of the same. There are restaurants in New Orleans that the menu hasn't changed in 125 years so how is one going to change or evolve the food?