91 Quotes by Tom Colicchio

Mushrooms can be very fancy. It’s the closest you can get to eating dirt.

Asian food is very easy to like because it hits your mouth very differently than European food does. In European food, there may be two things to hit – maybe sweet and salty, maybe salty-savory, but Asian kind of works around, plus you have that distinct flavor that’s usually working in Asian food.

Hunger is a political issue, and there are several things politically that are keeping people hungry – not funding food stamps adequately, not funding school lunches adequately. So there is a political solution to the problem of hunger.

Many of them have accomplished a lot before they ever get to ‘Top Chef’ although they’re not well known. The show just provides them with a platform. There’s just one winner and on some seasons you can get numerous chefs that are really good. Even if they don’t win, they’re all talented.

We’re adults. We’re the ones who should teach the kids what’s good to eat. I don’t think the government should ever regulate what we eat at home, but we’re feeding them in school with tax dollars. Quite frankly, if my tax dollars are being spent to feed kids, I’d rather feed them better food.

I hate okra and grated mountain yam for the same reason. They’re both slimy.

One of the first jobs I ever had was opening clams in a seafood restaurant, so I’m pretty quick at it.

A lot of professions happen to be male-dominated because women drop out at a certain point. It’s unfortunate.

I have very good knife skills. I learned to butcher on my second job – I was 18 years old. Every other day we would break down six legs of veal.