Quotes from Jose Andres

Let me tell you a story about when I was growing up in Spain. Many Sundays, we would invite 30, 40, 50 people to the countryside, and my father would make a big paella. He put me in charge of the fire and the 'stove' - the rocks that hold the pan. But he wouldn't let me cook. I got so unbelievably upset.

As a chef and as a father, I am very upset by what's on the menu at most schools: chicken nuggets and tater tots and ketchup and pizza.

When we are trying to come up with new health laws, you bring doctors, you bring experts in medicine. In urban planning, you bring the best architects. How it is possible that when we are talking about the way we are going to feed America, no chef shows up in the room?

Don't skimp on the ice. Bags from the grocery store melt so fast and water down your drinks. I prefer beautiful, big squares for my cocktails.

When you go to watch a baseball game, when you go to watch an NBA game, when you watch an NFL game, when you go to watch movies, the offering that those arenas are doing foodwise is 'all the hot dogs you can eat'; all the French fries you can eat; for $20 you can eat 20 hot dogs.

When the earthquake hit Haiti in 2010, I was on vacation in the Cayman Islands.

I get bored of vacation.

I'm very happy with how Jaleo in Las Vegas came together.

Vegas is a celebration.

Listen to me: Leek is a vegetable. It can be the center of a dish.

I believe the future is vegetables and fruits. They are so much more sexier than a piece of chicken.

Most people only use their griddles for pancakes, but you can sear vegetables like sliced zucchini or mushrooms, thinly sliced meats like chicken or pork, or thinly sliced fish or squid.

I work with companies like Audiostiles to put together mixes for my restaurants. I even created a soundtrack for my television show.

For me, there is no better tapa than a really good stuffed olive.

Dragon fruit is very subtle, very delicate. So you want to be careful not to kill it with things that have very strong flavor.

The business of feeding people is the most amazing business in the world.

When you become an American, they give you an injection so your accent changes.

We should all be involved in the avant-garde as long as we look toward the past.

Education is everything. It's for everyone. We all need to be educated.

Food is about making an interaction with ingredients. If you talk to them, they will always tell you a story.

I was very impressed with the street food of Singapore. I was very impressed with the dishes that they did.

For food to be romantic, it should be light. Too many times people plan a romantic meal, and the food is too heavy.

Even today with the public's growing interest in food and diet issues, politicians rarely include food as part of their political platforms.