Éric Ripert
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Eric Ripert (; born 2 March 1965) is a French chef, author, and television personality specializing in modern
French cuisine French cuisine is the cooking traditions and practices of France. In the 14th century, Guillaume Tirel, a Court (royal), court chef known as "Taillevent", wrote ''Le Viandier'', one of the earliest recipe collections of medieval France. In ...
and noted for his work with
seafood Seafood is any form of Marine life, sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including Fish as food, fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of Mollusca, molluscs (e.g., bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters, and mussel ...
. Ripert's flagship restaurant,
Le Bernardin Le Bernardin is a three-Michelin star French seafood restaurant in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Eric Ripert is the executive chef, and he is co-owner along with Maguy Le Coze. History Gilbert Le Coze and his sister Maguy Le Coze opened ...
, in
Midtown Manhattan, New York Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan, serving as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Building, the ...
has been ranked among the best restaurants in the world by culinary magazines and the most prestigious culinary ranking systems around the globe. From 2022 to the present, Le Bernardin has been ranked No.1 on "
La Liste La Liste which initially was a list of the 1,000 best restaurants in the world is privately owned and was launched in Paris in December 2015. This French ranking and restaurants guide nowadays lists 20,000 restaurants in 195 countries by aggregatin ...
", an annual list. It has held the maximum rating of four stars for over three decades from ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' and three stars from the
Michelin Guide The ''Michelin Guides'' ( ; ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The ''Guide'' awards up to three Michelin star (classification), stars for excellence to a select few restaurants ...
.


Early life and education

Ripert was born in
Antibes, France Antibes (, , ; ) is a seaside city in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in Southeastern France. It is located on the French Riviera between Cannes and Nice; its cape, the Cap d'Antibes, along with Cap Ferrat in Saint-Jean-Ca ...
southwest of
Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionAndorra Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a Sovereignty, sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees in Southwestern Europe, Andorra–France border, bordered by France to the north and Spain to A ...
with his mother. He grew up there. His mother remarried and his stepfather was abusive. Ripert's father died in an accident on a hiking trip when Eric was 11. At the age of 15, Ripert left home to attend a culinary school in
Perpignan, France Perpignan (, , ; ; ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in Southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the Mediterranean Sea and the scrublands of the Co ...
east of Andorra.


Culinary career

At 17, he moved to
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
where he worked for two years at La Tour d'Argent, a famous restaurant which claims to be more than 400 years old. Next, he worked at Jamin under
Joël Robuchon Joël Robuchon (, 7 April 1945 – 6 August 2018) was a French chef and restaurateur. He was named "Chef of the Century" by the guide Gault Millau in 1989, and awarded the ''Meilleur Ouvrier de France'' (France's best worker) in cuisine in 197 ...
and was soon promoted to Assistant Chef de Partie. In 1985 Ripert left to fulfill his military service, after which he returned to Jamin as Chef Poissonier. In 1989, he moved to
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
and was hired as a sous chef in the
Watergate Hotel The Watergate complex is a group of six buildings in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C., United States. The complex includes a development of cooperative apartment residences. It also includes a hotel and an office building, which ...
's
Jean Louis Palladin Jean-Louis Palladin (May 7, 1946 – November 25, 2001) was a French-born chef who introduced French Nouvelle cuisine to the Washington elite at his restaurant, Jean-Louis at the Watergate, and influenced a generation of French and American chef ...
restaurant. He left for New York in 1991, working briefly as
David Bouley David Bouley (May 27, 1953 – February 13, 2024) was an American and French chef. He was a sole owner and chef of restaurants in Tribeca, New York City, best known for his flagship restaurant, Bouley. Early life and education Bouley was born o ...
's
sous-chef A sous-chef is a chef who is second in command of a kitchen, ranking directly below the head chef in the Kitchen Brigade system developed by Auguste Escoffier. In large kitchens, sous-chefs are typically left in charge of managing members of th ...
before Maguy and
Gilbert Le Coze Gilbert Le Coze (1945 â€“ 28 July 1994) was a French chef known for his innovative methods in seafood preparation. Le Coze's cooking has been compared to Japanese cuisine and has influenced a generation of American cooks. In 1972 he left B ...
recruited him to be the chef for
Le Bernardin Le Bernardin is a three-Michelin star French seafood restaurant in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Eric Ripert is the executive chef, and he is co-owner along with Maguy Le Coze. History Gilbert Le Coze and his sister Maguy Le Coze opened ...
. In 1994, Ripert became Le Bernardin's executive chef after Gilbert Le Coze died unexpectedly of a heart attack. In 1995, at 29, Ripert earned a four-star rating from ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', and in 1996 he became a part-owner of the restaurant. In the NYC 2006 ''
Michelin Guide The ''Michelin Guides'' ( ; ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The ''Guide'' awards up to three Michelin star (classification), stars for excellence to a select few restaurants ...
'', Ripert's Le Bernardin was one of four New York City restaurants to be awarded the maximum three Michelin stars for excellence in cuisine. Le Bernardin received four stars from ''The New York Times'' six consecutive times, making it the only restaurant to maintain an exquisite status for that length of time and never dropping a star. Ripert has since firmly established himself as one of New York’s and the world’s great chefs. In September 2014, Ripert and
Maguy Le Coze Maguy Le Coze (born 1944) is a restaurateur and the co-owner of Le Bernardin in New York City. In 1972 she moved to Paris to open the first version of Le Bernardin with her brother Gilbert Le Coze. After receiving multiple Michelin stars in Pari ...
opened Aldo Sohm Wine Bar, named for their wine director Aldo Sohm. In the same month, the two expanded Le Bernardin’s private dining offerings beginning Le Bernardin Privé.


Media career

Ripert has made several guest appearances on cooking-based television shows, including guest judge and assistant chef roles on the second, third, fourth, and fifth seasons of
Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels * Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 * Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing compa ...
TV's ''
Top Chef ''Top Chef'' is an American reality competition television series which premiered on Bravo in March 2006. The show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges. The contestants are judged by a panel of professional chefs ...
''. Ripert appeared in many episodes of '' A Cook's Tour'', '' Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations,'' and '' Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown''. In September 2009, ''Avec Eric'', Ripert's first TV show, debuted on
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
and ran for two seasons, earning two
Daytime Emmy Awards The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NA ...
: Outstanding Culinary Program (2011) and Outstanding Achievement in main title and graphic design (2010). ''Avec Eric'' returned for a third season on the
Cooking Channel Cooking Channel is an American basic cable channel owned by and spin-off of Food Network. Both are owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (69%) and Nexstar Media ...
in February 2015 and available through
iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
and
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
. Ripert launched a series of brief online cooking videos called "Get Toasted" on his website, focusing on easy and quick meals which can be prepared and cooked in minutes with a toaster oven. In 2010, he played himself in the television show '' Treme'' on
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
(season 1 episode 5), alongside
David Chang David Chang (; ; born August 5, 1977) is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, author, podcaster, and television personality. He is the founder of the Momofuku restaurant group. In 2009, his restaurant Momofuku Ko was awarded two Michelin st ...
, Wylie Dufresne, and
Tom Colicchio Thomas Patrick Colicchio (; born August 15, 1962) is an American celebrity chef. He co-founded the Gramercy Tavern in New York City, and formerly served as a co-owner and as the executive chef. He is also the founder of Crafted Hospitality, whic ...
. Ripert returned in a cameo role in Season 2, in multiple episodes. Ripert appeared in Netflix's original series ''
Chef's Table ''Chef's Table'' is an American documentary series created by David Gelb', which premiered on video streaming service Netflix on April 26, 2015. The series takes viewers inside both the lives and kitchens of a variety of acclaimed and successful ...
'', in an episode about
Jeong Kwan Jeong Kwan (born 1957) is a Seon Buddhist nun and chef of Korean cuisine. She lives in the Chunjinam Hermitage at the temple Baegyangsa in South Korea, where she cooks for fellow nuns and monks, as well as occasional visitors. Jeong Kwan does not ...
(Season 3 Episode 1) airing in 2017.


Books

In 2021 and 2023 Ripert published his newest books "Vegetable Simple" and "Seafood Simple", which both became instant best sellers on the New York Times best seller list. In 2014, he released ''My Best: Eric Ripert'' (
Alain Ducasse Alain Ducasse (; born 13 September 1956) is a French-born Monégasque chef. He operates a number of restaurants, including Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester, which holds three stars (the top rating) in the Michelin Guide. Early life and career D ...
Publishing). In 2016, he published his memoir: ''32 Yolks: From My Mother's Table to Working the Line'' (
Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...
), which also was a''The New York Times'' bestseller. In the fall of 2008, Ripert published ''On the Line'', his second cookbook with Artisan, which in 2002 published ''A Return to Cooking'', a collaboration between Ripert, photographers Shimon and Tammar Rothstein, artist Valentino Cortazar, and writer
Michael Ruhlman Michael Carl Ruhlman (born July 28, 1963) is an American author, home cook and entrepreneur. He has written or co-authored more than two dozen books, including non-fiction, fiction, memoir, and books on cooking. He has co-authored many books wi ...
which was selected by ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...
'' as one of its best books of the season. Ripert's first cookbook, ''Le Bernardin – Four Star Simplicity'' (Clarkson Potter), was published in 1998.


Philanthropic activity

Eric Ripert is vice chairman of the board of City Harvest, the first and largest food rescue organization in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. For three years, he has hosted the Tibetan Aid Project's ''Taste & Tribute New York'' benefit dinner and auction at his
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
restaurant, Le Bernardin. "Funds raised at the annual ''Taste & Tribute'' benefit dinners help support efforts to restore Tibetan-language texts to libraries all over the Himalayan region... this project has led to the distribution of nearly two million traditional
Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
texts—one of the largest free book distributions in history.


Published works

* ''Le Bernardin Cookbook'' (co-authored with
Maguy Le Coze Maguy Le Coze (born 1944) is a restaurateur and the co-owner of Le Bernardin in New York City. In 1972 she moved to Paris to open the first version of Le Bernardin with her brother Gilbert Le Coze. After receiving multiple Michelin stars in Pari ...
),1998, * ''A Return to Cooking'' (co-authored with
Michael Ruhlman Michael Carl Ruhlman (born July 28, 1963) is an American author, home cook and entrepreneur. He has written or co-authored more than two dozen books, including non-fiction, fiction, memoir, and books on cooking. He has co-authored many books wi ...
) (2002), * ''On the Line: The Stations, the Heat, the Cooks, the Costs, the Chaos, and the Triumphs'' (co-authored with Christine Muhlke), November 2008, * ''Avec Eric: A Culinary Journey with Eric Ripert'' (2010), * ''My Best: Eric Ripert'' (2014) * ''32 Yolks: From My Mother's Table to Working the Line (17 May 2016) with
Veronica Chambers Veronica Chambers is an Afro-Latina author, teacher, and magazine executive. Chambers has been an editor and writer for ''New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, Glamour, Good Housekeeping, Premiere'', ''Esquire'', ''Parade'' and ''O, The Oprah M ...
'' * ''Vegetable Simple'' (2021), * ''Seafood Simple''(2023),


Awards

* #1 Restaurant in the World by La Liste 2018, 2022-present * Four stars (since 1995) by The New York Times * Three stars (since 2005) by the Michelin Guide * World’s 50 Best Restaurants (since 2006) * Forbes All-Star Eateries: Four stars (since 2000) by
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
* AAA Five Diamond (since 2013) by the
American Automobile Association American Automobile Association (AAA) is a federation of motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a privately held not-for-profit national member association and service organization with over 60 million members in the United States and Cana ...
* Mentor Chef Award (2022) by the Michelin Guide * "Best Restaurant in America" (1997) by '' GQ'' * "Best Food in New York City" (2000–2007) by
Zagat The ''Zagat Survey'', commonly referred to as Zagat (stylized in all caps; , ) and established by Tim and Nina Zagat in 1979, is an organization which collects and correlates the ratings of restaurants by diners. For their first guide, coverin ...
* "Outstanding Restaurant of the Year" (1998) by the
James Beard Foundation The James Beard Foundation is an American non-profit culinary arts organization based in New York City. It was named after James Beard, a food writer, teacher, and cookbook author. Its programs include guest-chef dinners to scholarships for asp ...
* "Top Chef in New York City" (1998) by the James Beard Foundation * "Outstanding Service Award" (1999) by the James Beard Foundation * "Outstanding Chef of the Year" (2003) by the James Beard Foundation


Personal life

Ripert and his wife Sandra (née Nieves) have a son. Ripert is a Buddhist, and meditates for an hour every morning. Ripert was very close friends with chef
Anthony Bourdain Anthony Michael Bourdain ( ; June 25, 1956 – June 8, 2018) was an American celebrity chef, author and Travel documentary, travel documentarian. He starred in programs focusing on the exploration of international culture, cuisine, and the huma ...
. Bourdain's 2000 book '' Kitchen Confidential'' was the first book Ripert read in English; afterwards he called Bourdain and the two met becoming friends. Ripert's first TV appearance with Bourdain was on '' A Cook's Tour'' in 2002. Bourdain featured Ripert's restaurant Le Bernardin on '' No Reservations'', and Ripert was often a guest on that show and on ''Parts Unknown''. Bourdain was also supportive of Ripert's writing career. Ripert introduced Bourdain's second wife, Ottavia Busia, to him after he and his first wife, Nancy Putkoski divorced. Ripert was in France with Bourdain in June 2018 for an episode of ''Parts Unknown'' when he found Bourdain unresponsive in his hotel room; Bourdain's death was ruled a suicide. Ripert paid respects to Bourdain on social media afterwards and, alongside chef
José Andrés José Ramón Andrés Puerta (; born 13 July 1969) is a Spanish-American chef and restaurateur. Born in Spain, he moved to the United States in the early 1990s and since then, he has opened restaurants in several American cities. He has won a num ...
, promoted June 25 (Bourdain's birthday) as Bourdain Day in 2020.


References


External links


Profile at Great Chefs

Personal Blog


* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ripert, Eric 1965 births Living people People from Antibes Television chefs French chefs French male chefs American male chefs French television chefs Chefs of French cuisine Head chefs of Michelin-starred restaurants Immigrants to Andorra French emigrants to the United States Chefs from New York City James Beard Foundation Award winners Judges in American reality television series