Camila Alves Quotes

Sardinia has to have some of the best seafood on the planet. I'm a sea urchin freak, and Sardinia's are some of the best I've had.

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.

Right now I'd love to be sitting on a Greek island somewhere because of being Greek American, eating great octopus salad and some fantastic lamb. Or sipping a little ouzo. I think the Mediterranean diet is one of the healthiest... Lots of nuts, vegetables, fruits, fresh fish, lean meats, yogurt.

The type of cuisine I do, especially after being on 'Iron Chef' for several years, is a lot of global cuisine. My strength has always been Mediterranean cuisine across the board from Morocco, Spain, Italy, Greece, France, but I think now I'm doing a lot of very different cuisines all the time.

I use other cookbooks for inspiration. I must say I tend to cook from my own cookbooks for parties.

Going to Europe as a budding cook opened my eyes to food in a different way. When I got to Italy, the first thing I did was put my little basil plants in the ground and watch them turn into big, healthy bushes.

Ever since I read 'Kitchen Confidential,' I saw a little light bulb go off. Being a chef is like being on a pirate ship; it's not like 'Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?' or whatever my impression was as I was growing up.

I seriously love to cook... My grandmother was an amazing cook. As a kid I used to help her make handmade pasta, Cavatelli and Ravioli. It was one of my favorite things to do. I love the idea of making whatever is in the fridge into something.

What has impressed me the most about the Italians whose tables we've sat at is that they are traditional cooks but also outrageously innovative. These people are wild improvisers.

When I wrote 'Barefoot in Paris,' I wanted to make simple recipes that you could make at home that tasted like French classics.

There are three reasons why this book came into being. First, throughout the 33 years I've been writing recipes - although I'm not vegetarian myself - I have greatly enjoyed creating vegetarian recipes, and cooking and serving them at home.

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.

English food writer Elizabeth David, cook and author Richard Olney and the owner of Domaine Tempier Lulu Peyraud have all really inspired the way I think about food.

There was a Greek restaurant, the only place we could get Italian food. All of us Italians and many others from other parts of Europe used to go there, and Rajiv and his friends also. Some of his group knew some of my group, and we met just like that.

The thing that people have said over and over again, especially people who don't cook, is, 'I watch your show, the food makes me hungry, and I think I can make that.' That's exciting because we've heard that a lot of people watch cooking shows but don't make the food.

I'm trying to keep my cooking approachable and accessible but with a little fun twist.

I love that I've become a mentor, almost like a mother, to all the people out there that love Italian, that love cooking. I seem to make them comfortable.

I used to eat Danny Kaye's food. I had his Chinese and Italian meals, and that was as good as it gets.

I've eaten a lot of strange things. I've eaten something called a razor clam. They just call it that because it likes like the old-school razors in the old-school barber shops. I can't even think of some of the things I've tried.

You can invite people over or make your kids their favorite food - that usually inspires me in the kitchen.

Hopefully people will be inspired to cook. It's my mission to persuade people not to be afraid of cooking.

My favorite to cook is this recipe I've been making since I was 12 years old with my mom, and it's an angel hair shrimp pasta with tomatoes, feta, garlic, white wine - it's so easy but so fresh and so delicious!

Probably the most satisfying soup in the world for people who are hungry, as well as for those who are tired or worried or cross or in debt or in a moderate amount of pain or in love or in robust health or in any kind of business huggermuggery, is minestrone.

[Our first dinner with Alison McGhee] was at Figlio's [in Minneapolis]. I know exactly what I had, because it was so good: their three-cheese ravioli. But I can't remember what I said to Alison that night that made her laugh so hard. But she got me right away and I got her right away.

Correct the seasoning' - how that time-tested direction stimulates the born cook!