Quotes from Marco Pierre White

A cookery book should be there for inspiration. Recipes should be a guideline, and they shouldn't be cast in stone.

The pressure of TV can force people to do odd things.

The only time I am seen in public is when I go to work. When I go home to England, I never leave my home.

I met my first wife at the fishmonger's in the summer of 1987, some six months after opening Harveys.

Oliver Reed was a great man who did things his own way. He used to come into Harveys, my restaurant in Wandsworth, and sit on the floor to have a drink before going to the table.

Do I shout, belittle or swear? No. I have sufficient confidence within myself to control my environment just by my presence, just by working hard and leading from the front.

Buy locally where possible, but if you can't get the very best locally, don't buy locally. Buy it from where it is best.

If you are not extreme, then people will take shortcuts because they don't fear you.

A tree without roots is just a piece of wood.

If you are not extreme, then people will take shortcuts because they don't fear you.

Strategy will compensate the talent. The talent will never compensate the strategy.

I borrowed a quote from Oscar Wilde and put it at the top of the menu: "To get into the best society nowadays one has either to feed people, amuse people, or shock people—that is all.

To know how to eat well, one must first know how to wait.

Escoffier, whose philosophy was "Good food is the basis of true happiness.

Lots of famous chefs today don't look whacked, because they don't work. They have a healthy glow and a clear complexion. There is blood in their cheeks. They haven't got burns on their wrists and cuts on their hands.

Oh, that's lovely wrist action you've got there. Fancy coming into the larder with me and earning yourself five woodbines?

If you can visualize the food on the plate before you start cooking, it means, inevitably, that you can be more precise with portions: how often have you prepared a roast dinner intended for six but ended up creating enough food for a dozen? Picture it on the plate first, and you'll not only get a better meal but save on waste as well—though do take into consideration the people who'll want second helpings.

Great chefs have three things in common: first, they accept and respect mother nature as a true artist; second, everything they do is an extension of them as a true person; and third, they give you insight into the world they were born into.

Mother Nature is the true artist and our job as cooks is to allow her to shine.

The sauce vierge: cup olive oil 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed 8 basil leaves, cut into fine julienne strips 2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced

TO PREPARE THE SAUCE VIERGE: 1. Heat the oil gently in a small pan, and then add the lemon juice. Remove from the heat. 2. Add the coriander and basil and let it infuse the warm oil for a few minutes. 3. Add the diced tomato and serve immediately.

At the end of the day it's just food, isn't it? Just food.