Wolfgang Puck Quotes

Cooking is like painting or writing a song. Just as there are only so many notes or colors, there are only so many flavors - it's how you combine them that sets you apart.

When you have made as many mistakes as I have, then you can be as good as me.

Only you can judge your life. You have to live up to your own expectations.

For me, cooking is an expression of the land where you are and the culture of that place.

To me, an airplane is a great place to diet.

A chef is a mixture maybe of artistry and craft. You have to learn the craft really to get there.

I learn more from the one restaurant that didn't work than from all the ones that were successes.

The only way to teach people how to truly do it and do it the right way, is to get those ingredients and kitchen tools in front of them and in their hands to use.

A good chef has to be a manager, a businessman and a great cook. To marry all three together is sometimes difficult.

You can eat an omelet at midnight, at lunchtime, all day long. It's perfect for every occasion.

Most seasonings are based on family tradition.

Restaurants are like having children: its fun to make them, maybe, but then you have them for good and bad. You are going to have to raise them and if something goes wrong when they are 30 years old, they will still be your little boy.

The most important thing for me is to really buy the best ingredient.

The food could taste amazing; however, if you present a plate of misfortunate looking food...you would really question yourself about whether or not you should eat it.

I like the Japanese knives, I like French knives. Whatever's sharp.

Prep things in advance so that you don't have to cook everything at the last moment.

For me, I don't expect to have a really amazing meal each time I dine out. Having a good meal with your loved ones - that's what makes the experience.

It is so nice to talk to someone that has a passion for food and family.

I want to teach [people] the secret of great visual presentation. Your stomach sees the food first, and I want to help them match food flavor profiles with the aesthetics of everything.

A lot of chefs are traditional and do it very well. But the ones who are the most successful are the ones who change things. That is why someone like Heston Blumenthal is a genius.

I think the time of the formal dinners is over.

What I don't like is breakfast in the morning. I have a double-espresso cappuccino, but no food.

When you meet someone, ask about what hobby they have, not what they do. People always ask me about cooking, but I prefer to talk about tennis or boxing.

I think it's really important to keep on staying motivated.

One of the things I've found now, not just for television, but in the restaurant, is that you have many anxious chefs, who know how to cook twenty recipes really well, but they don't have a good foundation for other things.