Frances Mayes Quotes

I spent a college semester in a small town in Italy - and that is where I truly tasted food for the first time.

I didn't start cooking until I was thirty-two. Until then, I just ate. - Julia Child

For 'Around the World in 80 Plates' we got to travel all over, having what was like a cross between a culinary competition and races. And in each country we had a chef Ambassador. We went to London, Barcelona, Bologna, Hong Kong, Thailand, Morocco... It was amazing.

The thing about all my food is that everything is a remembered flavor. Maybe it's something I had as a child or maybe it's something I had in Milan, but I want it to taste better than you ever thought.

The year 2014 was a big year for my taste buds. They really stepped up their game. Like, I got into red wine, coffee and sushi for the first time. Well done, George.

I think the goal of 'Chef's Table' is that you are so moved by the story that you want to go and eat that person's food at their restaurant. But I wanted the takeaway from my show to be that you go and cook the thing.

Italian food is seasonal. It is simple. It is nutritionally sound. It is flavorful. It is colorful. It's all the things that make for a good eating experience, and it's good for you.

I grew up in the Philippines and we had all this amazing fresh seafood, but uni was something that I was weirded out by. It wasn't until I was an adult that I was like, 'Let me just go ahead and try this.'

I consider myself a pancake connoisseur, because of all the pancakes I've eaten around the world. I've been everywhere in Europe, I've eaten everywhere.

On some subconscious level, I've been prejudiced against turnips, parsnips, swedes and other roots. Do they taste of much? Are they really special? How wrong I was.

A workday lunch that lasts as long as a transcontinental flight is an impossibility for all but the most pliant and footloose of food tourists. To get in the game, you need a thick wallet, an adventurous palate, and a whole lot of time.

Usually I love preparing. It's really the time I prefer, because it's a time of reflection and of possibility of growth - to let it cook inside.

I also want to go to an Italian island and do cuisine properly with some famous Italian chef and, like, his mother.

And we have a little herb garden, which survived the winter thanks to global warming. It makes me feel like a cool, old Italian housewife, that I kept my rosemary alive outside all winter.

Like anything, you don't force kids to cook. It just becomes part of life - have them be around it, keep them informed - talk about it. I try to relay my passion for it in these ways. The second you try to force anything on your own kid, they rebel.

Any idea's a great idea as long as it tastes great.

For years, I've felt that there's an inner cook in me just waiting to be unleashed. But I have to confess I'm having an awful lot of trouble finding her in real life.

I bet you think an egg is something you casually order for breakfast when you can't think of anything else. Well, so did I once, but that was before the egg and I.

I think people in Italy live their lives better than we do. It's an older country, and they've learned to celebrate dinner and lunch, whereas we sort of eat as quickly as we can to get through it.

In my actual life, a food adventure is my favorite thing to do.

I'm a big eater in terms that l love flavor, but I don't like to eat a lot of one thing. I like to eat a little bit.

When I lived in Greece and off the coast of Italy, I enjoyed a branzino dish so much that I created my own version.

'Big Night' is the best food movie ever made. It's such a celebration of food, and the Italian tradition of celebrating people. Plus, everything looked delicious!

My mom, ever the Italian, made braised chicken with tomato.

I remember the first time eating my chef's Caesar salad. It was just like one of those moments in the movie theater when everything gets quiet.