11.26.09
Eric Ripert’s adorable terror of Costco
The lucky food critic at GQ, Alan Richman, invited Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin (which is now even higher on my list of must-trys) to dinner at his house, to give M. Ripert a taste of suburbia. Imagine the great French chef’s reaction to food sold in bulk and jumbled with other unrelated products. He is comically horrified at everything, and can’t even bring himself to push the shopping cart, though he readily owns to being petulant. The part that really gets me is that he unhesitatingly admits the meal is good. That may have something to do with Richman’s skills in the kitchen – apparently cheese soufflés are trés difficile – but I like that even a renowned chef showered in honors for cooking some of the most amazing food in New York City can find the good in non-organic, processed food of uncertain origin. I doubt Alice Waters would ever unbend that much.
