181 Quotes by Mario Batali

Day-old bread? Sadly, in America a lot of day-old bread just becomes nasty. Italian day-old bread, not having any preservatives in it, just becomes harder and it doesn't taste old. What I would warn people about is getting bread that's loaded with other things in it, because it starts to taste old.

Keep in mind that in 1975, when you became a cook, it was because you were between two things: you were between getting out of the military and... going to jail. Anybody could be a cook, just like anybody could mow the lawn.

When I was a cook and 24 years old... I read the kinds of books that were the inspiration to understanding the value of simplicity in cooking.

The proximity to the Mediterranean... it's been a calming influence or just a generally good thing.

When I got to college age, my parents suggested, why don't you go to cooking school instead of going to a traditional college? I said that's not for me. That's ridiculous.

My intention is to make sure that we think about it without becoming too intellectual about it. There are pockets of restaurateurs throughout our country right now and in Italy, France, and Spain, who spend all their days figuring out how to confound the customer.

My father stopped speaking Italian because his father so badly wanted to be an American.

People were tired of eating things they could easily make at home.

French and Italian cooking have been elevated to a really high art form.