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Is there anything you’ve ever made that you couldn’t have made any better?

Sometimes, I see the problem, but there’s nothing I can do…I wish the pear had been a little bit more ripe. The pear, if it was a little bit more ripe, the juice will cook the brown butter and the maple syrup, and even the sauce would be even bitter. Today I put a little bit of lemon juice because the pear was not ripe enough.

Today for lunch, I did dessert and Barbara Fairchild was there, and I did it a little bit too big. I knew it was too big. The problem, at lunch, people only want smaller desserts. It was beautiful, incredible, but I know if it was smaller – the problem, you have to think not like Americans, about perfect. What’s the best? The best is when everybody finishes everything. It’s not when the portion is bigger than your head. When you finish everything, you remember it was good, and you eat everything. Today, I made a little bit too big, the portion. When you live in New York, I think, tonight was just perfect enough. I had the pear, the ice cream, and everyone was happy at the end. To a pastry chef, my advice would be, “Make it smaller, but make it so exciting, and it becomes a jewel.” Then people leave, and they get so excited. I made a mistake a lunch. It was too big. You have four courses for lunch, and two hours to eat, and all this wine. It’s a little too much in the end.

It’s a little over the top, the meals. It is an event, though.

I know, but you know what, my goal was always to make smaller and to make it so exciting that they say, “Oh, I want more.” That’s what you need, when it’s so good and you want more, you will remember forever. If it’s something you never finish, “It was good, but it was too much.” Today, it was a little bit too big. When I cut it – it was a candy bar – I cut it, but after the glaze on top and the chocolate decoration, maybe if the plate was bigger, or smaller. You see, I’m never happy. You have to be like that. It’s the only way to make it better. You cannot say, “It’s good.” You have to say, “I can do better.” That’s my way to do things in life, to be better every day.

Well, you get another chance every day.

That’s what I have.

What do you look for when you’re hiring somebody to work in one of your kitchens?

I don’t care about their resume. I want to see if they’re passionate. I can have a young girl coming from school, but if I can see in her eyes, she has the drive, and the passion, I’ll give her a chance. I can see a Mexican guy who’s a dishwasher, but wants to work, he can be incredible. What you do – nobody likes to say that – but the more you do, the more you repeat, the better you get. Pastry is very dedicated. I’m an artist, but my hands are very soft. Pastry is very delicate. Cooking is more rough. Even writers sometimes don’t understand the difference between cooking and pastry…There’s a reason girls love pastries. They’re very delicate. Even chefs, when they help me sometimes, I ask female chefs to help me, because male chefs aren’t delicate. They touch something, they break it. Pastry is so delicate. Sugar, flour, it’s a different world. Because I love both worlds, I’m excited to do both. For me, dessert has to be the best ending of a meal, and sometimes, we have to make it smaller and smaller. It’s like, who’s drinking sweet wine with dessert anymore? Less and less. Everybody wants to cut out something in this economy, calories, and everything. That’s the reason dessert almost has to become four bites. That’s where I see the new dessert.

Is there anything you don’t enjoy eating?

No, I love everything. I don’t like sweets.

You don’t like sweets?!

I shouldn’t say that. I would eat food every day, but not sweets. My chef, Phillipe, at Payard, used to eat sweets at the end of every night. Salty food all day long, you want something different. I see sweet food all day long, I want savory.

Do you have any trouble finding balance in your life?

Sometimes, because I always want to do more. I have a problem. I’m never happy. I don’t know if it’s a problem, but I always want to do more.