What were your favorite foods growing up?
My mother was a fabulous chef, and she made the best Wienerschnitzel with mashed potatoes. And the best desserts.

When did you decide you wanted to be a chef?
At the age of 14, I quit school. I really wanted to become a pastry chef but I couldn't find a job in a pastry shop so I started as an apprentice in the kitchen at the Post Hotel in Villach.

Where and when did your career in food begin?
I started when I was around 12 or 13 at my mother's side at the Hotel Linde in Maria Wörth. And then professionally at 14 at the Post Hotel in Villach.

If you didn't become a chef, what would you be?
When I was young, I thought becoming an architect would be a cool profession, since at the time, I wanted to build an Empire State Building in my little town. But I have absolutely no regrets choosing my current profession.

Who/what has shaped your cooking the most over the years?
In the beginning, my mentor was Raymond Thuilier from Baumanière and then later on, the city of Los Angeles because of the many cultural and ethnic groups living together at once where I could taste so many different flavors.

How would you describe your cuisine?
To me, there are only 2 kinds of cuisines -- the good kind, and the bad kind. Hopefully, ours is the first one.

What influences your cooking style and particularly the menu at your restaurant
The availability of the ingredients closest to us

What are your favorite culinary weapons in the kitchen?
Sharp knives and a spoon to taste everything

What is your favorite secret ingredient?
If I told you it wouldn't be a secret any more. But, love and passion are two out of three.

What is the one rule or value you try to instill in all of your staff?
We are in the hospitality business and from the bus boy to the chefs, we are all here to look out for the well-being and happiness of our guests.

What qualities to you look for when hiring cooks for your restaurant?
Patience, dedication, and passion

If I'm trying to watch my weight and I'm eating at your restaurant, what should I order to eat?
A twelve-course tasting menu. It's quality, quality, quality. You don't have to eat every single bite.

What was the most challenging meal you had to make? Why?
Experience has taught me a lot about how to handle challenges. I still remember the opening dinner at the Cannes Film Festival in the late 1970s. It was probably the most challenging dinner I ever did because coming from America, here I was, going to France and telling the French chefs what to do. It was not an easy task.

What was your worst restaurant disaster?
We've had a few disasters, but the customers never knew about it. It's how you handle a problem which separates the boys from the men.

What is your least favorite food?
Peanut butter and root beer

What is your beverage of choice?
I love Krug Champagne, especially when it's slightly aged. At home, we always half half-bottles of Krug as our house Champagne, so when I want an aperitif before dinner with my wife, we always have a few bottles chilled.

What are some recent dining and culinary trends you have been observing?
A lot of modernized variations of tapas, and exciting new creations in Japanese restaurants.

Which foreign country inspires your style most?
To me, foods from Japan and China and India have always inspired me. So when I came to Los Angeles in 1975, it was the perfect place for me because I could explore Little Tokyo and Chinatown as well as many other exciting cultural parts of our city which really helped define my cooking style.

What was the most spectacular meal you have ever had?
I've had a few spectacular meals - from years ago at Kitcho in Kyoto, to a fabulous dinner at Roger Verget's Moulin de Mougins, to this year's Chinese New Year feast at Chinois on Main.

What is your best cooking tip for a home enthusiast?
Always look for the best quality and only buy as much as you need. Don't fill up your refrigerator or freezer with leftovers.

What do you eat when you are home?
I'm very easygoing, unlike my 3-1/2 year old son. I'll start the day with a couple of cappuccinos, some corn flakes with fresh berries from the farmer's market, and my son will sometimes ask for pizza with white truffles or pasta with white truffles. If we have dinner at night, I like to grill some free range chicken or wild salmon on my panini grill with a little olive oil and lemon, and a good glass of wine. Or, if I'm in a hurry, it could be take-out food from Spago or Cut.