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 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
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
A gourmet who thinks of calories is like a tart who looks at her watch.
JAMES BEARD
attributed, The Restaurants of New York
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
Food is our common ground, a universal experience.
JAMES BEARD
O Magazine, Nov. 2003
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
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
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
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