Thanks to the abundance of shellfish in Puget Sound, Washington State is the largest oyster producer in the country.
— Tom Douglas
The simplest way to prepare Dungeness crabs is to boil them in the shell and set them in front of your guests with crab crackers or crab hammers, cocktail forks, and plenty of napkins.
Catfish's mild taste adapts well to a wide array of flavors, especially strong assertive ones, which is why you used to see it 'blackened' Cajun style on so many restaurant menus - a trick which soon became a tired cliche.
Catfish has a nice firm texture and mild flavor.
I was once made honorary mayor of my hometown of Newark, Del.
We've become such a restaurant society.
It's just an American tradition to make sure people don't leave hungry. The worst thing is to have them say, 'Great dinner, but now I have to go get a burger.'
One-pot meals make a lot of sense... because so much of what people hate about cooking is really the cleanup, the mess, the grease.
Alaska Airlines and I have a lot in common, so coming together to delight travelers with savory, high quality food from the Pacific Northwest made sense.
Sometimes managers are a little shy to criticize another manager or another operation.
I'm a compassionate person, so if a product is 15 percent more than what I typically pay, and I see the purpose, I'll foster that kind of sustainability for the farmers/fishers.
Money is like manure: if you don't spread it around, nothing grows.
When you watch 'Shark Tank,' everything is about off-shore this, off-shore that.
I would love to see McDonald's pay more money.
Every cook I knows loves to make pizza.
When I eat oatmeal, I'm hungry by 10 A.M., but pho is a great way to start the day.
When I was a kid and my mom made tomato soup, she would cut buttered toast into squares and float them on top of each bowl.
It's always a good idea to chill your crab cake mixture for a few hours, or even overnight, before frying because they'll hold together better.
Often we eat squid fried, so it's fun to grill it for a change. To grill squid, slice the cleaned bodies open into two flat pieces and thread them, along with the tentacles, onto skewers, then grill quickly over a direct fire with the coals as close as possible to the grate, turning the squid several times.
If deep-frying catfish, try a dredge of seasoned flour and cornmeal and add some bacon fat to the oil.
Support a small chef. Not these big chains... but support the people who are out there trying to do things right and working hard to do that.
I didn't go to university. I didn't go to culinary school, barely made it through high school.
I can't believe how many people don't have time to cook but have time to watch football and 'The Voice.' They're certainly making a choice.
I'm just sick of food going in the garbage.
I think you owe it to your kids to teach them how to cook - you know, self-survival.
I can't stand it when restaurants don't have a sense of place in a city. When I'm in London, I want to know I'm in London. When you're sitting in my joint, you know you're sitting in Seattle.
I don't have any interest in being a chef without being on the business side of things, or vice versa, because if you don't make money at the end of the month, you're going out of business.
Sustainability includes how you run your business, and my bottom line includes how you treat your people. Sustainability starts with your staff.
I know Jeff Bezos because I cater at his home.
There's natural mentoring that goes on in my life every day.
The one thing I could do with my eyes closed is my Grandma's schnecken.
I have an affinity for the old Seattle coffee shops, places like the Green Onion and the Copper Kettle, the classic kind of coffee bar - little places that served breakfast, lunch and dinner and have pretty much disappeared.
I love restaurants from top to bottom.
Pork is my friend.
Some versions of crab cakes are mostly crabmeat lightly bound with egg, but I'm a firm believer that a crab cake should contain bread crumbs.
The key to great fried squid is 'flash-frying' in hot oil for only a few minutes, which keeps it tender.
Most of the catfish you find at the fish counter has been farmed. Though I usually prefer to buy and eat wild fish, farmed catfish taste cleaner, without the muddy taste of their wild relatives.
I don't answer my phone in a restaurant.
The two things that are going to make you a better baker without even trying are a scale and a thermometer in your oven.
Some of the best things you do are the things you don't do.
If you don't have the confidence in baking, commit to making the recipe three times. The first two, do it exactly the way I've told you to make it. Twice. The first time you'll screw it up. The second time it will come out pretty good, and then the third time, make your adjustments.
If you just feel lazy and don't want to cook, then don't cook.
I've been taught by everyone I've ever worked with.
My dad never explained anything growing up.
How can anyone live off of minimum wage?
I pay a living wage, I believe in healthcare, I declare all my income, and I don't cut corners.
I think that people need to stand up with their backbone and not go to places where they feel like the workers aren't taken care of.
I'm kind of fat.
It's hard to legislate what people eat. People are getting fed up with being told what they can and can't do. It boils down to personal responsibility. People need to read labels, do their research and act accordingly.
I try to eat in one of my restaurants every day, and I eat out in another restaurant every day. It's what I do.
