Quotes from Anthony Bourdain

Having been a chef for some many years, I understand what it's like to work really, really hard to get good at something, only to have someone piss all over it.

Very few restaurant workers could even dream of eating in the restaurants they work in. Many do not make a living wage.

If you get an opportunity to work with David Simon, anybody with good taste would.

Drugs didn't work out too well for me.

I do not have a merchandise line. I don't sell knives or apparel. Though I have been approached to endorse various products from liquor to airlines to automobiles to pharmaceuticals dozens of times, I have managed to resist the temptation.

If I'm in Rome for only 48 hours, I would consider it a sin against God to not eat cacio e pepe, the most uniquely Roman of pastas, in some crummy little joint where Romans eat. I'd much rather do that than go to the Vatican. That's Rome to me.

Being a vegan is a first-world phenomenon, completely self-indulgent.

People's choice to become vegan, from people I've spoken to, seems motivated by fear.

I have the best job in the world.

I just do the best I can and write something interesting, to tell stories in an interesting way and move forward from there.

Thinking of getting into the leg-breaking business, so I can profitably sell crutches later.

If anything is good for pounding humility into you permanently, it's the restaurant business.

I can unload my opinion on anybody at anytime.

The Italians and Spanish, the Chinese and Vietnamese see food as part of a larger, more essential and pleasurable part of daily life. Not as an experience to be collected or bragged about - or as a ritual like filling up a car - but as something else that gives pleasure, like sex or music, or a good nap in the afternoon.

Recognise excellence. Celebrate weirdness and innovation. Oddballs should be cherished, if they can do something other people can't do.

Cream rises. Excellence does have its rewards.

That without experimentation, a willingness to ask questions and try new things, we shall surely become static, repetitive, moribund.

Street food, I believe, is the salvation of the human race.

Anyone who's a chef, who loves food, ultimately knows that all that matters is: Is it good? Does it give pleasure?

Margarine? That's not food. I Can't Believe It's Not Butter? I can. If you're planning on using margarine in anything, you can stop reading now, because I won't be able to help you.

Avoid at all costs that vile spew you see rotting in oil in screwtop jars. Too lazy to peel fresh? You don't deserve to eat garlic.

Those places I don't understand, just doing bad food. It takes some doing. Making good pasta is so much easier than making bad stuff. It actually takes quite an effort to make poor linguine pomodora.

Get up early and go to the local produce markets. In Latin America and Asia, those are usually great places to find delicious food stalls serving cheap, authentic and fresh specialties.

I lurched away from the table after a few hours feeling like Elvis in Vegas - fat, drugged, and completely out of it.