Quotes from Alice Waters

Everything tastes better with butter. Meat that has fat in it is tender in a certain way, flavorful in a certain way. It's hard to deny the flavor quotient there.

Teaching kids how to feed themselves and how to live in a community responsibly is the center of an education.

Let things taste of what they are.

When you have the best and tastiest ingredients, you can cook very simply and the food will be extraordinary because it tastes like what it is.

He understands that creating a meal means creating your own reality...

It shouldn't be an afterthought. The right environment around you can make whatever job you're doing pleasurable, no matter how small the task.

In the United States alone, about 30 to 40 percent of our entire food supply is wasted every year, according to estimates from the USDA. I find that particularly sad.

Do I think if something's beautiful, it's perfect? I guess you could say that. If I'm in a rapture of beauty, it's perfect to me.

It's so important to that we go into the public schools and we feed all of the kids something that is really good for them.

Food can be very transformational, and it can be more than just about a dish. That's what happened to me when I first went to France. I fell in love. And if you fall in love, well, then everything is easy.

If I've gone to the market on Saturday, and I go another time on Tuesday, then I'm really prepared. I can cook a little piece of fish; I can wilt some greens with garlic; I can slice tomatoes and put a little olive oil on. It's effortless.

My kitchen has a wood-burning oven, a large worktable, and windows all around, including one above the sink. I think whoever is washing the dishes needs to have a lot of beauty around.

The problem with living in a fast-food nation is that we expect food to be cheap.

You have to take it upon yourself and preserve and can foods that you'll want for the winter.

Hard-boiled eggs are wonderful when they're really done right. I bring the water to a boil, and then I put in the eggs. And then I boil them for - well, it depends on the size of the egg - maybe eight minutes.

We eat every day, and if we do it in a way that doesn't recognize value, it's contributing to the destruction of our culture and of agriculture. But if it's done with a focus and care, it can be a wonderful thing. It changes the quality of your life.

This is the power of gathering: it inspires us, delightfully, to be more hopeful, more joyful, more thoughtful: in a word, more alive.

When you don't have much money, cooking can be incredibly reassuring. You feel like you're doing meaningful work.

I used to think that I wanted to be a hat maker, but I don't think that would have worked out.

We've been so disconnected agriculturally and culturally from food. We spend more time on dieting than on cooking.

The things most worth wanting are not available everywhere all the time.

I have a love affair with tomatoes and corn. I remember them from my childhood. I only had them in the summer. They were extraordinary.

The biggest thing you can do is understand that every time you're going to the grocery store, you're voting with your dollars. Support your farmers' market. Support local food. Really learn to cook.

I try not to do anything that's immoral.