VIDEO: Eric Ripert Sits Down At The Chef's Table

Eric Ripert, the masterful chef behind Manhattan's Le Bernardin, sat down with The Daily Meal's video producer, Ali Rosen, for an in-depth discussion about the path of his career, his inspirations, how he got his start, and his plans for the future. The first segment in the four-part series delves into Ripert's childhood inspirations and how he began his legendary culinary career. 

Ripert talks about his earliest memories of cooking with his Italian and Provençal grandmothers, as well as with his mother and aunts. He recalls that his mother was very inspired by Nouvelle cuisine, while his grandmothers were cooking soul food, so the combination had a great overall influence on his culinary upbringing and philosophy as a chef. At age 17, Ripert moved to Paris to attend culinary school. 

While working at La Tour d'Argent, his first job as a culinary professional, Ripert learned how to cook seafood; he then went on to become the chef in charge of seafood under Joël Robuchon. The trend continued when he moved to New York City to work in the fish station under David Bouley. From there, Ripert went on to join the ranks at Le Bernardin and the rest is history. 

Stay tuned for the upcoming installments of At the Chef's Table with Eric Ripert.