Table of Biography
Early Life
Eric Ripert was born in Antibes, France, on the 2nd of March 1965. He holds French citizenship and he belongs to European ethnicity. He celebrates his birthday on the 2nd of March each year and is currently 58 years old. According to the astrological chart, he has a birth sign of Pisces and practices Buddhism religion.
At a young age, he learned to cook from his mother. When he was young, his parents split and he relocated to Andorra with his mother, where he grew up. His mother remarried, and his stepfather was abusive.
When Ripert was 11 years old, his father perished in a hiking accident. Despite this all facts, he has not mentioned or shared information regarding his parent’s identities and their professions.
Eric Ripert – Education
Talking about his academic qualifications, he was sent to a boarding school. At the age of 15, Ripert left home to attend a culinary school in Perpignan.
Professional Career
At the age of 17, Eric Ripert relocated to Paris. And, he spent two years working at La Tour d’Argent, a renowned restaurant that claims to be over 400 years old. He later worked at Jamin under Joël Robuchon and was quickly promoted to Assistant Chef de Partie. Moreover, he left in 1985 to serve in the military before returning to Jamin as Chef Poissonier.
He went to the United States in 1989 and was hired as a sous chef at the Watergate Hotel’s Jean Louis Palladin restaurant in Washington, D.C. In 1991, he relocated to New York and temporarily worked as David Bouley’s sous chef until Maguy and Gilbert Le Coze hired him as a chef at Le Bernardin.
Moreover, he took over as executive chef at Le Bernardin in 1994, after Gilbert Le Coze died unexpectedly after a heart attack. The following year, at 29, he received a four-star rating from The New York Times, and in 1996, he became a part-owner.
Caption: Eric Ripert preparing the dish (Source: TASTE Cooking)
His Le Bernardin restaurant was one of four New York City restaurants to get the highest possible three Michelin stars for culinary excellence in the Michelin Guide NYC 2006.
The New York Times awarded Le Bernardin four stars six times in a row, making it the only restaurant to keep that exceptional rank for that long period without losing a single star. Ripert has subsequently established himself as one of New York’s and the world’s top chefs.
Moreover, Ripert and Le Coze created Aldo Sohm Wine Bar in September 2014, which is named after their wine director. The following month, the two launched Le Bernardin Privé, which increased the restaurant’s private dining options.
Television personality
Apart from his work as a chef, he has made several guest appearances on cooking-based television shows, including guest judge and assistant chef roles. He was cast as a judge on the second, third, fourth, and fifth seasons of Bravo TV’s “Top Chef.” Similarly, he has appeared in many episodes of “A Cook’s Tour,” “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations,” and “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown.”
His first television show, “Avec Eric,” premiered on PBS in September 2009 and aired for two seasons, receiving two Daytime Emmy Awards: Outstanding Achievement in Main Title and Graphic Design (2010) and Outstanding Culinary Program (2011).
He released a series of brief online cooking videos titled “Get Toasted” on his website, concentrating on simple and quick meals that can be prepared and served in minutes using a toaster oven. He appeared as himself in the HBO series “Treme” (season 1, episode 5), with David Chang, Wylie Dufresne, and Tom Colicchio. In Season 2, he reprised his cameo appearance in several episodes.
Ripert appeared in the 2017 season 3 episode of Netflix’s original series “Chef’s Table,” which focused on Jeong Kwan.
Books
Moreover, he has also published several cooking books. Additionally, his first cookbook “Le Bernardin – Four Star Simplicity” (Clarkson Potter), was published in 1998
His second book named “A Return to Cooking” was published in 2002, a collaboration between Ripert, photographers Shimon and Tammar Rothstein, artist Valentino Cortazar, and writer Michael Ruhlman that was selected by Newsweek as one of its best books of the season.
Moreover, he published another book “On the Line” in 2008 with Artisan. In 2014, he published his newest cookbook, “My Best: Eric Ripert” (Alain Ducasse Publishing). In 2016, he wrote his book, “32 Yolks: From My Mother’s Table to Working the Line” (Random House). It debuted on The New York Times Bestseller List.
Eric Ripert – Awards
As a renowned chef, he has won several awards. Some of them are #1 Restaurant in the World by La Liste, 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, AAA Five Diamond (since 2013) by the American Automobile Association, 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, “Outstanding Restaurant of the Year” (1998) by the James Beard Foundation, “Top Chef in New York City” (1998) by the James Beard Foundation, “Outstanding Service Award” (1999) by the James Beard Foundation and “Outstanding Chef of the Year” (2003) by the James Beard Foundation.
Net Worth 2024
Being a chef, television personality, and author, he has earned a huge sum of money. His net worth is estimated at around $20 million. Whereas his annual salary and income are under review.
Relationship Status
Eric Ripert is happily married to his wife Sandra (née Nieves). However, the chef has not mentioned when they started dating and their marriage date. With the marriage, the couple has a son whose name is unknown.
Caption: Eric Ripert’s family photo (Source: Facebook)
Three years in a row, he hosted the Tibetan Aid Project’s Taste & Tribute New York benefit dinner and auction at his Manhattan 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.
Body Measurements
This French chef stands 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighs around 78 kg. Moreover, he has a pair of grey eyes with the same colour hair.
Social Media
On her Instagram page ‘@ericripert’ there are over 756k followers. Likewise, there are over 542.1k followers on his Twitter page ‘@ericripert’ and over 1.2 million followers on his Facebook page.