I constantly think I'm a fraud - that this success is not warranted or justified.

I don't like eating in restaurants.

I'm always criticizing and only see the mistakes.

I learned so much more prepping vegetables than I ever did in cooking school.

I was terrible at desk jobs.

I really don't care for the proper chef coat.

I think the best restaurants in America should be in California.

Shouldn't a three-course meal be 90 minutes? Do you know how hard you have to edit your menu to pull that off? Twenty-seven minutes. That's the average meal at Jiro's in Tokyo.

Why can't it be awesome to work for a food company? Why can't we create an environment where people are trying to push each other to do great things, and we're not trying to steal from anybody - we're trying to be good to our farmers and run an honorable business, if there is such a thing anymore?

Yes, natural is good and healthy, and whole foods are important. However, experimentation is important, too.

Growing up, my dad owned a restaurant in Washington, DC, and food was something I was passionate about. But when I finally got into it, I felt like it was so late in the game; that's why I worked seven days a week at Craft and Mercer Kitchen. I wanted to see how far I could take it.

I'm a big sports fan.

'Tampopo's amazing. I think it's an absolutely fantastic movie, but I don't think it captures for me the meaning of food.

The Momofuku Culinary Lab started as a space where we could focus on creating and innovating. I didn't want us to worry about working on projects in a restaurant; there are just too many distractions in service and running a kitchen to be able to focus on creating your dishes.

I'm grasping with how you do something on a large scale with multiple operations and not have quality decrease.

There are many things to admire about Japan but this is the one thing I love the most and probably the only time I eat breakfast. Fish, eggs, soup, salad, veggies; all in the tiniest bites. It's a full meal, but it's so refreshing.

I love the intensity of the fine-dining kitchen, but loathe the fine-dining experience.

People are getting famous now for serving food out of a truck, or for, well, pork buns. I don't know if I'm really pleased to be a part of that. I'm somewhat terrified of what the future holds, especially in America.

Fine dining teaches you how to cook many different things, and it gives you the basic fundamentals, but these specialty restaurants, they're not teaching you the broad foundation you need to become a well-rounded cook.

If I have a really bad cook or a bad manager or bad sous-chef, I previously would have fired them or lost my temper. But now I realize that if I'm so right, then I should be able to communicate it so clearly that they get it.

Any processed chicken from any place - I'll order it in a heartbeat. I'm very picky about my pork, though.

Before I had my own restaurant, I was never top dog in the kitchen. I've always had a low opinion of myself as a cook.

I work so hard that I forget to take care of myself.

Just because something's been good in the past doesn't mean it will continue to be good.