Quotes from Jose Andres

Iberico de Bellota is best when cooked medium rare with a nice, pink center to allow the delicious acorn-infused flavor to come through.

Your parents would not be happy if you came home and said you wanted to grow up to be a chef or a rock star.

Pimenton gets its intense flavor because it is dried over wood smoke. You can try hot, sweet or bittersweet, though sweet is probably the most commonly used.

Chefs are at the end of a long chain of individuals who work hard to feed people. Farmers, beekeepers, bakers, scientists, fishermen, grocers, we are all part of that chain, all food people, all dedicated to feeding the world.

IBM has research and development; so do Microsoft and Nike and even Jose Andres. But there hasn't been enough R&D on feeding people in the Third World. This has to be part of the process; if not, we'll keep throwing money at the problem instead of investing in true solutions.

Every time I open a bottle of wine, it is an amazing trip somewhere.

Recipes are overrated.

The time has come to recognize that food, how we produce it, process it, package it, sell it, cook it and eat it, is as important as any other issue.

We still have to keep betting on markets like America that are full of opportunities to grow, even if we have to work our heads off to do it.

I prefer natural hardwood lump charcoal - the other stuff makes your food taste like Goodyear tires.

Steakhouses serve these big steaks. The first piece is hot, and the last piece is cold. The way I like to eat is to try three or four cuts of meat. People should actually be eating less meat, and the meat they eat should be special.

The right use of food can end hunger.

Puerto Rico is the perfect meeting place between Spain, the country I come from, and America, the country where I now belong. The meeting point of two worlds where magic can happen.

If what I have to do is share a sandwich to lift someone's spirits, put a smile on their face - the worst thing that happens is I go broke!

One thing that makes me very happy is to see the growing activism among chefs in America. Chefs like Tom Colicchio, Bill Telepan, and Rachel Ray and food writers like Michael Pollan have gone to Congress, indeed sometimes even have testified before Congress, have lent this support to Mrs. Obama's effort to combat childhood obesity.

For me, summer hasn't really started until tomatoes reappear in local farmers' markets.

In Spain, we mainly use red plum tomatoes, but it is always fun to experiment. Try using a mix of colors or substitute green tomatoes for plum next time you make a tomato dish.

As chefs, we work with organizations like Oxfam to enrich their projects with culinary tools, recipes and ideas.

The cheapest gadget - and you don't even have to spend a dime - is chopsticks from a Chinese restaurant. I use them for everything: to toss salads, to turn a piece of meat in the pan, to flip croquettes in the Fryolator, to whisk eggs for omelets, to stir eggs into fried rice when I make that for my daughters.

I'm sorry for the ducks; I love foie gras.

I'm a different immigrant. My life is so lucky compared to so many.

To me, what I'm interested in, in the end, is the meaning of food in our lives.

Look at our farmers' markets today, bursting with heritage breeds and heirloom varieties, foods that were once abundant when we were an agricultural nation, but that we have lost touch with. Bringing all these back helps us connect to our roots, our communities and helps us feed America the proper way.

Simple ingredients, treated with respect... put them together and you will always have a great dish.