David Chang

Growing up, my dad owned a restaurant in Washington, DC, and food was something I was passionate about. But when I finally got into it, I felt like it was so late in the game; that's why I worked seven days a week at Craft and Mercer Kitchen. I wanted to see how far I could take it. ”

Just because something's been good in the past doesn't mean it will continue to be good. ”

In New York, we're always confined with spaces. Our restaurants are difficult to navigate as cooks and to operate. We fight against the buildings we run in New York. ”

If you're going to be a vegetarian, limit yourself to food from a place you can go to in two hours and just eat that. ”

Any processed chicken from any place - I'll order it in a heartbeat. I'm very picky about my pork, though. ”

The Momofuku Culinary Lab started as a space where we could focus on creating and innovating. I didn't want us to worry about working on projects in a restaurant; there are just too many distractions in service and running a kitchen to be able to focus on creating your dishes. ”

Contemporary ramen is totally different than what most Americans think ramen should be. Ramen is not one thing; there are many, many different types. ”

I appreciate people who are happy. ”

If I have a really bad cook or a bad manager or bad sous-chef, I previously would have fired them or lost my temper. But now I realize that if I'm so right, then I should be able to communicate it so clearly that they get it. ”

To me, there are two types of celebrity: there's good celebrity - people that are attracted to the food and working and trying to create something great - and then there's bad celebrity - those who are working on being a celebrity. ”