Thomas Keller Quotes

A recipe has no soul. You, as the cook, must bring soul to the recipe.

When you acknowledge, as you must, that there is no such thing as perfect food, only the idea of it, then the real purpose of striving toward perfection becomes clear: to make people happy, that is what cooking is all about.

Success is measured by the memories you create.

Its not about passion. Passion is something that we tend to overemphasize, that we certainly place too much importance on. Passion ebbs and flows. To me, it's about desire. If you have constant, unwavering desire to be a cook, then u'll be a great cook.

This is the great challenge: to maintain passion for the everyday routine and the endlessly repeated act, to derive deep gratification from the mundane.

It's not about perfection; it's about the joy of striving.

Any job worth doing is worth doing well. But to be able to do that, you have to do it over and over again.

Food is such an important part of our lives, and sometimes we tend to diminish the importance of that, because we rely on conveniences or because our lives are so complicated. We forget about those moments that we can actually share around the table with our family, with our friends, with our loved ones.

Respect for food is respect for life, for who we are and what we do.

Repetition is the mother of perfection. If there is true perfection, it's about doing something over and over again. I truly think that if somebody does a recipe they've never done before and gets it right, they're probably more lucky than they are talented.

Cooking is not about convenience and it's not about shortcuts. Our hunger for the twenty-minute gourmet meal, for one-pot ease and prewashed, precut ingredients has severed our lifeline to the satisfactions of cooking. Take your time. Take a long time. Move slowly and deliberately and with great attention.

A cookbook must have recipes, but it shouldn't be a blueprint. It should be more inspirational; it should be a guide.

For me, thats one of the important things about cooking. What was good enough yesterday may not be good enough today.

Let's face it: if you and I have the same capabilities, the same energy, the same staff, if the only thing that's different between you and me is the products we can get, and I can get a better product than you, I'm going to be a better chef.

You have to be driven. You have to be focused. You have to be aware.

And don't forget music - music in the kitchen is an essential ingredient!

You don't know when inspiration is going to come. But you have to be aware of what's going on around you, so that at any moment, when inspiration happens, you're ready for it and you interpret it.

Once you understand the foundations of cooking - whatever kind you like, whether it's French or Italian or Japanese - you really don't need a cookbook anymore.

I can make dough in a machine faster than I can make it by hand, but I want to make it by hand, because I want to remember the way it feels. It's so important for me to make it by hand - whether it's a pasta dough or a pâte brisée. You become involved in it. You become personal with it. For me it's such a wonderful way to get satisfaction and gratification when I'm cooking.

I think that's the important thing - being aware of that inspiration and being able to interpret it into something that's meaningful for you.

I think that you’ve got to make something that pleases you and hope that other people feel the same way.

I guess the main source of stress for me is the stress I put on myself.

The book is there for inspiration and as a foundation, the fundamentals on which to build.

Good food is a good trend.

Larousse is an invaluable tool for any cook. I've used this great resource all throughout my cooking career, and of course I look forward to the new edition. New information and knowledge are always welcome.