Alinea is not the type of restaurant where you go if you’re in a hurry. Really, it’s about enjoying that three-hour block of time and reflecting on the food, having great conversation with your dining companion. – Grant Achatz
My home kitchen is airy, with a gas stove, a stainless-steel island table in the center and granite countertops. It’s very modest but there’s tons of counter space, so you can slap down three or four cutting boards. – Grant Achatz
Here’s the irony in what I do: When I go out to eat, I like classic French food. I like amazing Japanese food that has such a history that it goes back hundreds of years. And I also like really innovative food as well. – Grant Achatz
The popularity of the Internet and using it as an available resource has really changed the way chefs kind of gather information and look for inspiration. To me, a food trend is potentially a lot of people following an idea. – Grant Achatz
What makes the food that we do at Alinea so interesting on the outside is that we really don’t let ourselves say no to an idea. – Grant Achatz
Part of becoming a little bit older and having the opportunities that I have, you want to start giving back to people who have been influential and helped you along the way. – Grant Achatz
Most smoked salts are made with liquid smoke, which is a condensate, but really, really good smoked salt is literally smoked. – Grant Achatz
The most luxurious thing to me is having an hour of my day, which rarely happens, to listen to my iPod and sit on my couch. That’s how I unwind. – Grant Achatz
To me, every kitchen appliance is useful and nothing’s overrated. When I look at my little espresso machine, I don’t see coffee. I see a steaming valve as an opportunity to make amazing creme brulee. – Grant Achatz
I had D minuses in chemistry and all of the sciences, and now I’m known as a molecular gastronomist. – Grant Achatz
Whatever it is you’re doing, whether it’s your career or a particular focus, if you’re trying to be the best you can possibly be, then you’ll be putting that pressure on yourself. – Grant Achatz
If I had one piece of advice for people – if they are cooking from the Alinea cookbook, the Betty Crocker cookbook or the back of the box – read through the entire recipe first before reaching for any ingredients, and then read again and execute the directions. – Grant Achatz
Whenever people are faced with any sort of adversity… they tend to gravitate toward things that make them comfortable, and things that they feel are important. – Grant Achatz
My personality was always such that I always look straight forward, never behind or to the side. – Grant Achatz
We all eat two to six times a day. Why? Because we are supposed to, we are programmed to, we want to. – Grant Achatz
Ultimately, the perfect meal is when those things come together – circumstance, the food, ambiance, and you’re with the person that you want to be with. – Grant Achatz
There are about 700 flavors that you can smell, but only five you can taste. A lot of times what you’re perceiving as flavor has nothing to do with palette, but it’s more to do with scents. – Grant Achatz
Anything that could ever prevent me from achieving a goal, I put in a box, tape it up, throw it over my shoulder. You aim for a goal and attain it. Then you look to the next one. – Grant Achatz
My life has been such a blur since I was 18, 19 years old. I haven’t even had time to contemplate my own life. By forcing yourself to write your life story you learn a great deal about yourself. – Grant Achatz
It’s not really the life of cooking that’s hard – it’s what you make of it and what level you push yourself to. – Grant Achatz
Food is a necessary component to life. People can live without Renoir, Mozart, Gaudi, Beckett, but they cannot live without food. – Grant Achatz
I lived my whole life in the kitchen. Not only that, but it’s the passion, it’s the love for cooking and food. It’s dictated my entire life – every aspect of it. – Grant Achatz
