JAMES BEARD QUOTES

American chef (1903-1985)

Good food cannot be made of inferior ingredients masked with high flavor. It is true thrift to use the best ingredients available and to waste nothing. If you use the best butter, eggs, cream, meat, and other ingredients, and use them carefully and wisely, you will have less waste than if you search for bargains end up with a full garbage pail.

JAMES BEARD

The Fireside Cookbook


I believe that if ever I had to practice cannibalism, I might manage if there were enough tarragon around.

JAMES BEARD

attributed, Eat These Words


I don't like gourmet cooking or "this" cooking or "that" cooking. I like good cooking.

JAMES BEARD

attributed, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America

Tags: cooking


Food is our common ground, a universal experience.

JAMES BEARD

O Magazine, Nov. 2003

Tags: food


I grew up in a kitchen that was the hub of the house and the crossroads of the entire neighborhood.

JAMES BEARD

The Armchair James Beard


A gourmet who thinks of calories is like a tart who looks at her watch.

JAMES BEARD

attributed, The Restaurants of New York


There is much to be said for modern appliances in the kitchen, but there are times when we revert to primitive tools simply because they do the job so much better.

JAMES BEARD

"To Grind or Not to Grind", The Armchair James Beard


The only thing that will make a souffle fall is if it knows you're afraid of it.

JAMES BEARD

attributed, All In Good Taste


Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts.

JAMES BEARD

attributed, Culinary Creation


To dine in this kitchen is ever a satisfying experience. My preference for kitchen dining never seems to wane. It is not nostalgia but a natural expression of my love for food and its preparation. It seems to me that the pleasure of eating is heightened if one is there amidst the delightful smells to witness the moment when the finished dish comes out of the pot or the oven. And usually the less time lost between stove and table, the better.

JAMES BEARD

The Armchair James Beard

Tags: eating


Just remember--it's always a good idea to follow the directions exactly the first time you try a recipe. But from then on, you're on your own.

JAMES BEARD

The Best of Beard: Great Recipes from a Great Cook


I grew up in a kitchen, and I guess the scent of food is like a perfume. It has stayed with me all my life.

JAMES BEARD

"An American Attitude Toward Food", The Armchair James Beard


Too few people understand a really good sandwich.

JAMES BEARD

attributed, Runner's World, 2001


There is absolutely no relationship between an artificially flavored canned pork and a real ham.

JAMES BEARD

James Beard's American Cookery