Quote

The culinary tradition in my family is very strong. My mother, a very wise woman, spent the better part of her life in a kitchen. It's a very strong part of her identity. I grew up there next to the fire.

Progress makes us lose the feeling of a ceremony that cooking should have. It has significantly shifted our values so that now it seems to us that only activities with an economic reward are worth pursuing.

I love to cook. It is a simple pastime.

I love to cook for people. It's my honor, honestly. It's what I have to give.

I hate to sound cliche, but I understand why people love to cook. It's fun!

You know, when you get your first asparagus, or your first acorn squash, or your first really good tomato of the season, those are the moments that define the cook's year. I get more excited by that than anything else.

I love the alchemy of cooking, the theatre of it. It's creating something.

Over the holidays is when I have the most occasions to cook and bake.

'Celebrate' is meant to be a guide to party planning and, as such, it has to cover the basics. If I were to write a cookery book, for instance, I would be compelled to say that, to make an omelette, you have to break at least one egg. Actually, that's not a bad idea. Or maybe I should write a sequel and call it 'Bottoms Up?'

I love to cook, and I've just gotten more and more into it over the years, just because it's the best way to stay creative.