Daniel Boulud

I've discovered the burger is a crazy thing in Vegas, but I was one of the early chefs to do a lot of burgers.

I was 25 years old when I arrived in D.C. It was just myself and two people who worked and helped me in the kitchen. I was only cooking for three people most of the time.

I think fine dining should be part of the community where it is, more than just for the people who are going to make a special occasion.

I want to make sure the fine-dining restaurant has a clientele who is local as much as tourists and foodies.

I think D.C. has always been very, very vibrant for food. Like Boston in a way. Boston and D.C. were really the two cities that were the most active with their local chefs and their local food scene.

When France was the only reference for chefs to learn, you could go everywhere in the world, and they would copy dishes directly because they didn't have much expanded imagination or technique or knowledge.

I am very concerned about nutrition and always try to be careful about what I eat.

After six years at Le Cirque, I decided to start my own business. I opened Daniel at 76th Street in May '93.

I think at Le Cirque I learned how to make real food, which is what people crave, not just gimmicky things on a plate.

Le Cirque at first was one of those general French restaurants in town, which were cooking more or less the same food. At Le Cirque, I wanted to do something different while respecting the foundation of the restaurant. I did that through the menu.

I did all of California from north to south. I did Florida from north to south. I went to the Midwest. I spent time discovering the culture because I thought I was going to stay in America for only two years. Then I decided to come to New York.

No one knows restaurants like a New Yorker - they're incredibly discerning and restaurant savvy.

I love to create, and to me, the ultimate freedom of expression is a blank canvas or a block of clay to capture whatever emotions your imagination gives it.

To me, there's no great chef without a great team.

I always had a lot of fun in America, with much more freedom than if I had tried to cook in France. I wouldn't have the same motivation or inspiration, and I wouldn't have cooked for the same kind of people in France, so it wouldn't have given me this edge I had in America.