Q: TV chef Gordon Ramsay (Hell's Kitchen; The F Word; Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares) worked for you at one point, so why isn't he always smiling? He's always yelling and cursing at the people in his kitchens. Do you think chefs like Ramsay are inspiring so many young people into cooking careers because they seek that "magic transformation," or rather, because they want to be TV stars?
A: I've been to Gordon's restaurant [in London] and it's perfect. is his choice. And I think that if there's a richness of choices now for chefs, then that's a good thing. When I began cooking at 14 years old, people took me for an idiot. You work when everyone's on holiday. You work 15 hours a day. You work, you work, you work. . . . And if you can't put in that effort, you can't do this job. . . . But once you know your craft after seven or eight years, the entire planet is available to you, a snack bar or a small restaurant with your wife. In Australia or Japan. You can write about food. You can be on TV. This is the job of the free. Of liberty. When I started, everyone told me the opposite.