I always request a king-size bed, and if I can't, I try to work that out right after I land. I unpack immediately so the clothes don't get wrinkled. I go the gym. I adjust the temperature; I like the room kind of warm. And then turn on CNBC. Geoffrey Zakarian More Quotes by Geoffrey Zakarian More Quotes From Geoffrey Zakarian Determine who you are and what your brand is, and what youre not. The rest of it is just a lot of noise. Geoffrey Zakarian brandsdeterminenoise The most important things in life happen over conversations while eating. Geoffrey Zakarian things-in-lifeimportanteating It's so funny. I honestly thought every one of those people on the show could beat anyone at any time anywhere. You just have to have a slightly off day or moment or two or you missed a touch of acid. It has nothing to do with credentials. Anyone could've chopped anyone at any time. I had to look at myself as the one who could lose this the most. Geoffrey Zakarian twopeoplelooks My agent called me and said, they watched you do Chopped Champions and they thought you'd be good for this competition. What do you think? And I said, well, what do you think? He said he thought it would be great and I said let's do it. When you decide to do this, you don't really think that you're going to win it. I thought it would be fun, good to test my mettle; games are fun like that. Why not? I'll try it. Geoffrey Zakarian winningfunthinking I got killed against Morimoto. I brought out white plates with food; I thought that was really nice. He brings out sculptures of ice, Noah's ark made of balsa wood that he carved at his restaurant downstairs, smoking trees ... When I saw that, I looked at my sous chef and I'm like, we're toast. Geoffrey Zakarian nicesmokingwhite What we've witnessed in the past 25 or 30 years is just incredible. We've birthed 30,000 or 40,000 restaurants. I used to go to Europe every year to get experience [and ideas]. I don't go to Europe anymore. I go to Oregon, I go to Washington, I go to Louisiana, I go to Little Rock, I go to Austin, I travel New York City. I don't go to Europe anymore. Geoffrey Zakarian rocksnew-yorkpast I don't enjoy eating humble pie. Geoffrey Zakarian pieeatinghumble Chestnuts are my favorite ingredient to use in the fall, especially for the holidays. I always find that they are meaty, hearty and have a mysterious refinement when cooked or roasted over sea salt. Geoffrey Zakarian holidayseafall The worst day is just that I did not enter the culinary world sooner. And the best day was seeing the reaction of my one year old daughter when she tasted her first crisp apple! Geoffrey Zakarian applesdaughteryears I'm very active. I've got two small daughters and four restaurants in three cities. I'm busy. Geoffrey Zakarian daughtercitiestwo I wish that restaurateurs would choose simpler and smaller glassware. The tables on restaurants these days are way too crowded, and mostly because the plates are too odd looking and big, and the wine glasses are so gigantic that it takes up the whole surface area and you can't move. I prefer smaller glassware. Geoffrey Zakarian glasseswinemoving It's really an honor to be included in such an incredible lineup of chefs. The team Borgata has assembled is by far one of the best on the East Coast. Geoffrey Zakarian eastteamhonor When I step into the kitchen in the morning, I go for the scrambled eggs with pine nuts and minced lamb. When I finish at night, it is hard to resist the burger. Geoffrey Zakarian nutsmorningnight I've been working in boutique hotels my whole life. Geoffrey Zakarian hotelwhole-lifewhole If you give a discount there's a desperation there and I like to substitute desperation with service and real quality. And the desperation goes away. Geoffrey Zakarian qualityrealgiving A plate of food has to have balance. For example, a mild fish like skate mustnt be overwhelmed by the side dishes. They should have personality and color, but they also have to be subtle. Geoffrey Zakarian colorpersonalityshould-have I love hospitality, and I love cooking. The kitchen is where I feel most at ease and where I feel most like myself. Geoffrey Zakarian kitchencookingease Days off are few and far between in the restaurant business. But on an hour off, I like to have a glass of wine with my wife. Geoffrey Zakarian wifeglasseswine Everybody these days wants to be a star, including myself. Don't get me wrong, I'm a chef but you want to market yourself and your projects. Geoffrey Zakarian starswantchef Everyone could use instructions on every aspect of cooking: pantry, storage, refrigeration, cooking, what to buy. Everyone that I come into contact with could use help. Geoffrey Zakarian cookingusehelping
