JEAN-GEORGES VONGERICHTEN

I arrived in New York in 1986, when I was 28. The market here was nothing. In the Union Square farmers' market, it was a couple of potatoes, everything from California. So the only place I was comfortable shopping was in Chinatown, because it all came from Hong Kong.

I grew up in Alsace - in Strasbourg, by the canal; the family business was coal handling. It was still in the days when three generations would live under the same roof. There were 15 people for lunch, 20 for dinner.

The day of the week changes, but one day in the week I eat vegetarian.

You've got to be in your kitchens, or it all falls apart.

I think food is getting lighter and healthier because people eat out so often. It's about quality ingredients because that is the root of good food.

I'm cooking 42 years, and I didn't know bananas are good for my brain.

Pound Ridge is about five miles from our country house. When you go every weekend for the last ten years without fail, well, that starts to feel like a home.

No one can understand my accent!

A chef and a restaurateur are different jobs: One is about pleasing people with what's on the plate; the other is about understanding the market. I'm a chef, but I think I'm a savvy businessperson, too.

For friends, I love to make bruschetta. I grill country bread with Frantoia olive oil and make toppings, like crab, roasted squash, mushrooms, whatever's seasonal.

My mother worked in a chocolate factory, so when I came home from school, I had a piece of baguette with dark chocolate in it. I remember her smelling like chocolate.

I have 20 restaurants. And if one doesn't work, it doesn't work.

I am a huge supporter of the Waxman foundation.

The role of a chef isn't to reinvent dishes but to tweak.

Our best hits are real-estate stories, going back to our first, JoJo in 1991.

Cooking at home is easier than cooking in the restaurant because you don't have to write a menu or try to please everybody.

My kitchen in New York City is in the Richard Meier building on Perry Street, so it's ultra-modern: white, glass and transparent. It's 180 square feet, with an induction stove. Everything's hidden, so you don't see the microwave or the fridge.

The house is always full, and we're always cooking - outside, inside, for six, eight, a dozen, 20 people.

The Hamptons remind me of my childhood vacations. I love the beach, restaurants, and produce found on the East End.

At lunchtime, our kitchen was like a mini restaurant: my grandmother and mother had to cook for as many as 25 people - extended family plus 10 employees. We ate a lot of cabbage and a lot of potatoes.

I eat everything. I still like to go to Peter Luger once in a while.

When I arrived in New York, I was at the Drake hotel for five years; so, yeah, I really miss hotels. It's like having friends stay at your home. Every day you get to treat them, not only to dinner, but for breakfast, and everything throughout the day.

For people in London, Asian flavors are always part of the culture, more than in New York.

I think we're always going to be based in New York. So I would say 50 percent New York and the other 50 percent around the world.

I think, as a chef and restaurateur, that you have to take care of your business. Otherwise, you're only as good as your last meal. You have to watch if your food costs are too high, or you could be out of business in no time.