The heart of the matter

Fergus Henderson, St.John, from The Whole Beast (cookbook):

"Do not be afraid of cooking, as your ingredients will know and misbehave."

Bernard Pacaud, L'Ambroisie, from Haute Cuisine Paris (cookbook):

"To me, the only real adventure is in the ingredient, in its identity; the china plate must not be more attractive than the dish prepared. Everything goes through the senses: you have to touch, listen to an ingredient in order to understand it."

Thomas Keller, The French Laundry, from The Seattle Times:

"My goal is not to have a menu at the French Laundry. You go with complete confidence in the food, the service, and the wine. What the hell do you need 850 selections of wine for? You're eating dinner."

David Kinch, Manresa, from San Jose Metro:

"I do it because I still like to. I don't want to work in hotels. I don't want three restaurants. I don't want to do 500 covers a night. I don't want to be on TV. None of this interests me. Call me anti-success...but I just want to cook in my restaurant with my crew in my beautiful kitchen and make people happy.