Eric Ripert (rih-pair) (born 2 March 1965 in Antibes) is a French chef, author and television personality specializing in modern French cuisine and noted for his work with seafood.
When I realized, "Hm, I'm not that good at all. It will take me weeks, maybe months, to master the 32 yolks. " When I did, it was a turning point in my career.
We lived in St. Tropez when I was young, and there were a lot of Vietnamese refugees in France at the time, after the war. My mother had many Vietnamese friends who entertained a lot, and she was taught how to make that spring roll. She would make them all the time.
When I was twelve, I decided to become a chef. I stole a book from the library about the greatest restaurants in France. I'd flip the pages and dream. I should return that book to the library some day.
The importance of reading, for me, is that it allows you to dream.
At 15, I had to choose a vocational school, and I was delighted, of course, to go to culinary school. But learning the basics was not as exciting as being the chef I am today.
When you serve lobster, you've taken a being's life away. Therefore if you create a recipe, you have to be very dedicated to elevate the lobster, to make it good and tasty of course, but at the end of the day it's a matter of paying homage.
America is a such a melting pot, I'm not sure if roast chicken is the classic comfort food for everybody.
A lot of foreign people say, when asking about eating habits, 'What is your guilty pleasure?' I have no guilt. Whatever I do, I enjoy and it's the point. I think if you start to feel guilty about it, that's a problem. So, no guilty pleasures. I have pleasure and no guilt at all.
I love eggs. When it's the season of truffles, scrambled eggs with truffles, and I'm happy. I'm smiling like that.
Obviously California is fantastic in terms of produce, vegetables.
I am an audiophile. It's almost like a virus. I'm completely crazy about the quality of sound. It's interesting and painful at the same time; you have to really spend a lot of money on the equipment.