Jose Garces Quotes

I would try doing a dish 30 different ways.

I present classics in an unfamiliar way or unfamiliar ingredients and preparations in a classical way.

My favorite way to cook is to look in my cabinets and see what I have. That's the most fun. 'I don't have tomatoes, but I have this chili-garlic sauce from the Asian grocery store. Let's throw that in there and see how it affects my beef barley soup!'

If you're cooking and not making mistakes, you're not playing outside your safety zone. I don't expect it all to be good. I have fat dogs because I scrap that stuff out the back door.

For me, the kitchen is the most special room in the house. It's a place for adventure - not drudgery, but discovery, sharing and showing off with friends, trying new ideas.

I have been a baker for more than 30 years now, and in terms of equipment, all I really need is flour. It still amazes me what a versatile commodity it is, as you can do so many different things with it, and I never tire of trying new blends and recipes.

Music is like cooking for me: you mix the ingredients together in one big pan and see how they end up. Through experimenting, you find what you really like and stick with it.

Throughout the history of el Bulli, there have been many changes in its organisation or philosophy. This is another one of those moments. There will be risk, and freedom, and creativity. But there won't be opening hours, or reservations, or routines.

Recipes are overrated.

You just keep playing. If someone special comes along and organizes it in a new way, then you'll have another approach and everybody will jump on it to try to learn.

I learned from my dad that change and experimentation are constants and important. You have to keep trying new things.

I'm not a trained chef, so I end up making stuff up. It either turns out brilliant or an absolute disaster. I just go for it.

I just find things that work and embellish them.

It's very hard to be an innovator at the highest level in any discipline. For some chefs it's merely about combining ingredients, but that's something you can do with your eyes closed.

I cook, I create, I'm incredibly excited by what I do, I've still got a lot to achieve.

Musical harmony is based on physical principles, while in cooking, ingredients must be weighed out with precision. At the same time, you have to be able to invent because if one follows the same recipe all the time, you never create anything new.

Free yourself from the rigid conduct of tradition and open yourself to the new forms of probability.

Without deviation progress is not possible.

No rules. Don't be afraid to do whatever you want. Cooking doesn't have to have rules. I don't like it that way.

I like to erase lines between categories. Why separate cookbook writing from writing, healthy from good tasting? I want to be open to possibilities.

Improvising things is always changing. A lot of momentum.

What the world is saying to us human beings is, 'Don't stick to the old ways, learn to think anew.' And that's what musicians do every day.

The first time you make something, follow the recipe, then figure out how to tailor it to your own tastes.

To have a basic ingredient that can be prepared a million different ways is a beautiful thing.

You've got to experiment to figure out what works.