- From an early age I understood that cooking was never going to be a job, it's a passion. Poor old Antony Worrall Thompson, poor old Delia Smith, I don't think the penny's dropped yet!
- I may have a bit of a side to me that enjoys banter but nine times out of ten it is someone else who throws the first punch.
- I have to laugh when someone calls me an a*****e. I've been called far worse than that.
- Some can handle it, and some can't. I'm not interested in the ones who can't.
- Tana and I have a great marriage, even though we spend very little time together. The time we have together is quality, rather than quantity.
- I'll often say certain things just to motivate people or to get something else out of them. People who work for me, and with me, learn very quickly not to take everything I say at face value.
- When you're running a restaurant, you have to change with the times; otherwise, the times will change you.
- For me, the primary tell-tale sign that I'm on my kids' bad side is when they refuse their allowance.
- I wouldn't resort to cannibalism, never mind if I was starving. I'm just not interested in that.
- Even if I were single, I could never maintain a relationship with a vegetarian. Their breath is just too smelly.
- You know, I have a rough side. I have a smooth side. But underlining all that is an honest side. I have an earnest desire to get things absolutely right.
- There's laziness everywhere, whether it's J.P. Morgan not checking where it's $2 billion went, or whether it's a waiter taking for granted his 20-per-cent tip so he doesn't have to bust his ass at his table.
- I found myself in a very fortunate position at the age of twenty-two, where I got my ass kicked in France and I learned how to cook. And I always say to my young chefs, become vulnerable. Get yourself out of your comfort zone. It's a great learning experience. I think today everyone plays it safe too much.
- If they turn around and say, Mr. and Mrs. Ramsay, we're going to upgrade you to the honeymoon suite, decline it. For some bizarre reason everyone thinks it's the most romantic place. I did a black light search for germs in the honeymoon suite at one of these hotels. I swear to God it was like a galaxy.
- The public should have the right at any time to walk into the kitchen and see how the food is being prepared. You go into a dentist's office and you look around and you're so comfortable with the pristineness. Kitchens should be the same way.
- [Chastising two Master Chef Contestants for fighting while cooking] We're here to cook and compete. We don't have to love each other, but as individuals we have to at least respect other, in order to work with each other.
- First time [an order is messed up] I'm fine, second time I get a little bit narky, third time I get pissed off. I just want it right, really. So, next time somebody overcooks the fish for the fourth time, I'm going to say, 'I met this lovely lady at the TCA and could you be so kind as to cook this right? The whole dining room is waiting for you.' Would you prefer me to say that? I get straight to the point. I think it's healthy to have an old fashioned stance, in way. These people are in a competition to win a substantial amount of money with an amazing title. If I was in their shoes at 25, 26, I'd learn how to make an amazing risotto and cook fish perfectly before I went anywhere near a competition.
- [asked why it is so hard for chefs to master basic dishes] I think a majority of them smoke, which I think is disgusting. It's like, would you go to a doctor who smoked six cigarettes a day? I've never smoked in my life.
- I got my ass kicked in New York when we first opened. Absolutely hammered. I learned a tough lesson. I got absolutely hammered, as I did in Paris. You go in with that level of arrogance, thinking you're going to take on the world. And it's true - if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere.
- Chefs are the world's worst eaters. You graze all day. We would be lying if we said we sat down and ate dinner before we cooked dinner. I prefer the Chinese way, where we eat 6, 7 times a day. But it's a pain in the butt when I go out with my wife, because I've always stuffed myself by the first appetizer.
- I think the epidemic of obesity is everywhere. Not just in the U.K. or the United States. I get very uncomfortable when the children get highlighted, because it's not the children's fault. It's the parents' fault. You have to have stricter guidelines from an early age. I weigh myself every day and my children weigh themselves once a week, which I think is a normal way to go through life. I think the parents should be almost put under scrutiny for letting that situation get out of control.
- The better the customer becomes, the better we perform. I think as a nation we don't complain enough. They do in France. If they're not happy with anything from the waiter to the smell of the restaurant to the seasoning, they don't argue, they send it back. As a nation, I think we should complain more.
- No guidance is no standards. No standards is no consistency.
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