Harveys opened against the backdrop of Thatcher's greed culture.
I'm happiest walking through fields, on beaches, and over riverbanks. Nature is my surrogate mother.
'Wall Street' was the big movie of 1987, the year in which Harveys opened. It was a film about greed and self-indulgence, about hunger for success, and Michael Douglas's line, 'breakfast is for wimps,' became a mantra for anyone who wanted to get to the top.
I just can't stand Tony Blair.
My grandfather, father, and uncle were chefs, and my other uncle was a butcher.
A lot of people say I look like a rock star or a designer punk. But I swear it's the job that has carved my face. It's the hours, the stress, and the pressure. It's not me trying to look like this.
One day, a chef moaned that he was too hot, so I took a carving knife in one hand, held his jacket with the other, and slashed it. Then I slashed his trousers. Both garments were still on his body at the time.
You'll never see me at award ceremonies.
I came from a hard, working-class world which, since my mother's death, had been dominated by men. I hadn't been encouraged to talk about the burden of grief, and because I was severely underdeveloped when it came to sharing my emotions, I mustn't have been the most communicative husband.
A cookery book should be there for inspiration. Recipes should be a guideline, and they shouldn't be cast in stone.
Cuisine Nouvelle was just a concept, and one which, crucially, the English managed to get wrong. I mean, if you run a restaurant, you've got to feed people, not make pretty little pictures on plates to make up for your lack of ability.
My mother's death was the defining moment of my life.
My favourite dessert is tarte Tatin.
I was racially discriminated against for years as a child in Leeds because I was an Italian.
I never had a drink at all till I was 38. I'm just not a drinker. I go days without drinking.
Good people are always forgiving. They close an eye to one's failings.
The day I stopped fearing my father was the day I could enjoy him.
My cooking attracted celebrities. I met Sylvester Stallone. He squeezed my bicep and said: 'I don't usually eat your kind of food, but for you, I ate it.' I haven't got a clue what he'd eaten but he asked me to cook for his wedding feast when he married Jennifer Flavin at Blenheim Palace.
I think self-discovery is the greatest achievement in life, because once you discover yourself and accept what you are, then you can fulfil your true potential and be happy.
Like most fathers, I would do anything for my children, and I've worked very hard at trying to be a good father. I want to give them education, security, everything I never had.
