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You know the old adage that the customer's always right? Well, I kind of think that the opposite is true. The customer is rarely right.

From Charlie Trotter

There has been no great surprise, no sudden revelation. I knew pretty much what I was getting into. What I've learned is that a restaurant can be as much of an art as you want it to be, but it has to be a successful business first.

From Charlie Trotter

For over 20 years, I have been saying that Chicago is by far one of the greatest food cities in the world.

From Charlie Trotter

To me, searching for perfection isn't anywhere near as interesting as trying to find your own voice.

From Charlie Trotter

I've always liked root vegetables because most of them have a natural sweetness. They have a high fructose content, especially when you cook them and caramelize them in a saute pan. Or you can take a turnip and cook it slowly in the oven until it's browned, and it takes on a kind of sweetness. These vegetables are pretty easy to like.

From Charlie Trotter

A jazz musician can improvise based on his knowledge of music. He understands how things go together. For a chef, once you have that basis, that's when cuisine is truly exciting.

From Charlie Trotter

When I graduated I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, but I knew I didn't want a conventional career.

From Charlie Trotter

I never considered Miles Davis a perfectionist; I always considered him as an excellence-ist, where deviation is actually kind of cool.

From Charlie Trotter

Maybe it's good to be traumatized in your youth, to make you think differently and step outside the box. Anybody can be comfortable, but if you get your world rocked, shaken as it were, then maybe it causes you to really go to a whole other level in a different way.

From Charlie Trotter

I wasn't using college as a stepping stone to law school or some other career. I just wanted a liberal-arts education.

From Charlie Trotter

Charlie Trotter

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