28 Chef Quotes to Fuel Your Culinary Fire

Following too many instructions can be cringe-worthy, bad ingredients ruin your day, and you get jittery if you spend too much time out of the kitchen.

If these apply to you - I'll bet you're a chef.

All successful cooks, chefs, and restaurateurs know that this art is their calling. Whether you're leading the kitchen of your town's favorite diner or if you're on your way to becoming the next Wolfgang Puck, all chefs have a purpose.

Some of the most successful names in food have shared their thoughts about chef life in the form of insightful, inspirational, and scarily accurate chef quotes.

Here are just a few of the best.

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"Cooking is like painting or writing a song. Just as there are only so many notes or colors, there are only so many flavors - it's how you combine them that sets you apart." - Wolfgang Puck

"Cook more often. Don't study; just cook." - Masaharu Morimoto

"No rules. Don't be afraid to do whatever you want. Cooking doesn't have to have rules. I don't like it that way." - Masaharu Morimoto

"Remember, it is never the knife's fault." - Daniel Boulud

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"It's okay to play with your food." - Emeril Lagasse

"Don't try to be the next Rachael Ray or Bobby Flay, we already have those people. We want someone who is going to make their own mark on Food Network." - Bobby Flay

"Working in a restaurant means being part of a family, albeit usually a slightly dysfunctional one. Nothing is accomplished independently." - Joe Bastianich

"If you don't follow your dream, who will?" - Emeril Lagasse

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"Initially let your food do the talking. You'll be surprised how far you go in a short period of time." - Gordon Ramsay

"I believe it's a cook's moral obligation to add more butter given the chance." - Michael Ruhlman

"Chefs have a new opportunity - and perhaps even an obligation - to inform the public about what is good to eat, and why." - Rene Redzepi

"There's no bigger pain anywhere in the world than a vegetarian." - Gordon Ramsay

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"The kitchen really is the castle itself. This is where we spend our happiest moments and where we find the joy of being a family." - Mario Batali

"It's not about perfection; it's about the joy of striving." - Thomas Keller

"I believe that there is always something new to learn, in fact, that is one of the three reasons that I chose to become a chef, that my education is never over." - Anne Burrell

"A recipe has no soul. You, as the cook, must bring soul to the recipe." - Thomas Keller

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"I always say that I don't believe I'm a chef. I try to be a storyteller." - Jose Andres

"In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude." - Julia Child

"Food is a necessary component to life. People can live without Renoir, Mozart, Gaudi, Beckett, but they cannot live without food." - Grant Achatz

"Desserts are like mistresses. They are bad for you. So if you are having one, you might as well have two." - Alain Ducasse

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"The way you make an omelet reveals your character". - Anthony Bourdain

"What you feel like eating at any given moment is what you should have." - Ferran Adria

"The key to running a successful kitchen is what I call the ‘3 F’s.’ Be Firm, Be Fair, and Be Friendly with your staff, your guests, and yourself." - Will Gilson

"If an architect makes a mistake, he grows ivy to cover it. If a doctor makes a mistake, he covers it with soil. If a cook makes a mistake, he covers it with some sauce and says it is a new recipe." - Paul Bocuse

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"Cooking is the ultimate giving." - Jamie Oliver

"Nine out of ten English chefs have their names on their chests. Who do they think they are? They're dreamers. They're jokes. Just ask yourself how many chefs in this country have Michelin stars and how many have their names on their jackets. We all wear blue aprons in my kitchen because we're all commis. We're all still learning." - Marco Pierre White

"If it doesn't taste good it doesn't go on the menu." - Heston Blumenthal

"'Chef' doesn't mean that you're the best cook, it simply means 'boss.'" - Tom Colicchio