Eric Ripert

Le Bernardin

155 West 51st street (6th and 7th avenue)
New York
United States
+1.212.5541515

Few chefs have left such a strong mark on the New York contemporary scene as Eric Ripert. Born in 1965 in Antibes, on the French Riviera, when he was still a child he moved with his family to Andorra, a small country on the French-Spanish border. At 15 he returned to France, to Perpignan, to his first cooking school. At 17 the doors of legendary 3-starred Tour d’Argent in Paris open up for him. This is followed by 3 more Michelin stars, at Jamin, next to Joël Robuchon.

In 1989 he moves to the other side of the ocean, a fortunate choice. After an experience in Washington, in 1991 he becomes sous-chef in Manhattan with David Bouley. But when Gilbert Le Coze (his teacher, who passed away too soon, in 1994) and his sister Maguy ask him to be the chef at Le Bernadin, things change for good. In 1995, at 29, Ripert gest 4 stars from the New York Times. In the Big Apple this is a more desired result than 3 Michelin stars, which arrived 10 years later, a constant until our days, just like the acknowledgement from the newspaper.

The restaurant in Midtown is one of the few to be rewarded both by the “old school” and Millennials: countless acknowledgements, and in 2017, Le Bernardin is 17th in the World’s 50Best. A record built with perfect French-school dishes, mostly fish based. With signature dishes like kindai maguro (bluefin tuna, dehydrated tomato, crispy Parmigiano and oil aromatized with black olives) and escolar (white tuna, sea beans, potato chips and Béarnaise sauce).

In 2014 Ripert and Le Coze open Aldo Sohm too, next to Bernardin. It’s a friendly wine bar with great cured meat and cheese. Meanwhile, the chef has become a huge media star and written a series of bestsellers: “Le Bernardin – Four Star Simplicity” (1998), “A Return to Cooking” (2002), “On the Line” (2008) and “My Best: Eric Ripert” (2014, published by the publishing house of fellow countryman Alain Ducasse).

Ripert is also very active socially: he’s vice-director at City Harvest, a cooks and restaurateurs association that collects funds and donations for the poor in the Big Apple. When he’s not in the kitchen, he sips Scotch whisky and enjoys the quiet.

by

Gabriele Zanatta

born in Milan, 1973, freelance journalist, coordinator of Identità Golose World restaurant guidebook since 2007, he is a contributor for several magazines and teaches History of gastronomy and Culinary global trends into universities and institutes. 
twitter @gabrielezanatt
instagram @gabrielezanatt