"From a young age, I understood the idea of balanced flavor - the reason you put ketchup on a hamburg..." — Michael Mina

Chefs become attracted to being able to get product and then clientele - those are the two things that attract you as a chef.

I'm not a big breakfast eater.

I loved the cooking; that was what I was passionate about, but getting to watch the guests eat - because you could see everything from the kitchen - just watching people eat and looking at the plates when they came back, just understanding, this is such an amazing job.

My last two years of high school, I did work-study half the day, and I ran the restaurant. It was just this little restaurant, but it was just so cool. I had 35, 40 employees.