Valuable Chef Quotes

"If we go back five hundred years to the Renaissance, we’d find technique, theory, and aesthetic values most often handed down to young artists toiling away in their master’s studio (not unlike today's cooks who stage among the world's top kitchens). Copying the work of those old masters served as an important part of that training; by matching tone and color and each stroke of the brush, the student might also absorb the decision making process behind them." - Michael Laiskonis

"You have to know the rules before you can bend (let alone break) them, first commit to formal training and stage under numerous mentors to become a truly skilled, damn good cook." - Charlie Palmer, Volt Ink

"Gastronomy begins with technique.  If you haven't got technique, you will never master gastronomy.  You should buy the best ingredients and cook them perfectly, but to do this you have to question what you are doing and why you are doing it.  If you don't understand what makes a good, say, roast partridge - the hanging, the plucking, the trussing - before you've even started, then don't bother roasting it.  You've got to hang the bird correctly, pluck it correctly (without piercing the skin) and truss it beautifully (bring in the legs and plump out the breast so that it cooks evenly), retaining the heart and livers for sauce.  Seal it on all sides and then cook it on the back.  What's the timing of it?  About ten minutes in my oven, but your oven is different from mine.  A male partridge is bigger than a female partridge.  A partridge shot in December is bigger than one shot in September". - Marco Pierre White, Devil in the Kitchen

"Paying attention to details and making sure that it was done and done right.  You put a piece of tape on a box in the refrigerator, it should be straight, because why would you put it on crooked?  You cut a piece of foie gras, it should be perfect because if it's not, it's a waste.  If you're cooking something in the oven you should make sure you take it out at the right time.  At one point in the oven it is perfect, and that's when you should be aware of it and take it out". - Thomas Keller, Soul of a Chef