Top 86 Quotes & Sayings by Wolfgang Puck

One thing I always say is being a great chef today is not enough - you have to be a great businessman.

New Yorkers think they have everything, all the best art and music. But really L.A. is a better place.

I think the time of the formal dinners is over.

You see fewer and fewer chefs who are really big - most stay in shape.

There's a lot of processed food in America and I know that can make some tourists who're used to fresh food feel sick.

When I do a cooking class now, I tell people that the most important part is to read the recipe many times so you know what you're doing. What I don't tell them, though, is that sometimes I do parties where I'm rushing so much I don't have time to follow my own advice.

It's very important in a restaurant to really do the right hiring because there's no restaurant that you have one cook and one chef and nobody else in the kitchen. Generally you have five, ten, 15 people with you. So that's really important is to train them right, but first you have to hire the right people.

Acting is a very artistic profession and there are thousands of people out there who think they are actors but there are very few who have real talent.

The good news about showcasing chefs and the TV shows is they've attracted a lot more smart kids to the profession than 30 years ago. On the downside, though, these young chefs all say they want their own restaurant and their own TV show.

If you're cooking for a woman, make a good risotto and a salad. If you don't have time to make desert you can go and buy some macaroons to have afterwards.

When I'm in Los Angeles, my wife and I go to the farmers' market with the kids every Sunday.

In L.A. you live in a big city, but you feel like you're in the countryside. For example, I can be at home in the swimming pool and be five minutes from everything.

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

I grew up in Austria, and for me real comfort food is Wiener Schnitzel. Wiener Schnitzel and mashed potatoes because it reminds me of my youth... It reminds me when I grow up and it feels very comforting.

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.

Italian food is all about ingredients and it's not fussy and it's not fancy.

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

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.

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

I left school when I was 14 to work in kitchens.

I like Dover sole. It's always one of my favorites. I like it when I'm in England. I eat it every day almost. I think it's probably one of my favorite fish.

When I was 27, if I didn't put 15 things in one dish I wasn't happy.

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.

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

A lot of restaurants serve good food, but they don't have very good service.

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

I always tell people that they are really the critics. If people come three times a week to your restaurant they are the ones who find something they really love.

I believe that London is the most exciting food city in Europe.

It's a myth that generally Asians are mostly vegetarians. The Japanese are the kings of red meat, but it's expensive. The Chinese and Vietnamese love their pork. Many Indians, especially the Muslims, can't live without their lamb.

I tell everybody the same thing: You have to make every dish so when you taste it, you should remember it when you go home.

Restaurants are like having children: it's 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.

You know, I never really thought of myself as a 'celebrity.' One of the titles that I like least is 'celebrity chef.'

I like to be firm. But it is easier to be nice than to be nasty.

Television in the '80s was very limited. There was no Food Network.

I really love Paris. It's my favorite city.

I grew up so poor in Austria that we never took a vacation with my family.

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

Now everybody thinks that once you do Top Chef, then 13 weeks later you're a chef. Nobody wants to learn to cook anymore.

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

Everybody has to put purees underneath everything now. It's like people think we need the steak, and then we need some baby food with it.

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.

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

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

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.

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

Young people want to be famous before they know how to cook, before they know how to treat people, before they know what hospitality means. I stayed in France for seven years and Austria for three, so before I was a chef anywhere I was already cooking for 10 years.

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.

People are visual and hands on learners.

Most seasonings are based on family tradition.

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

I want to teach people how to do it the right way. And it is from that they can teach their children how to do it properly. It will teach them how to cook better and healthier at home.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

Don't go and cook Indian food if you never cooked Indian food, you know?

I think I generally try to buy the best quality and keep it simple. I don't try to make too many decorations, too many things with it.

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

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