How To Throw The Perfect Party, According To Eric Ripert
On the evening of his recent cookbook launch, the Michelin star chef and TV personality gave us his tips on company and canapés.
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Last week, I was delighted to have my cardinal bite at New York’s “Temple of Seafood”, Le Bernardin. Unfortunately, on a writer’s salary, I was not there to sit down for the $298 chef’s tasting menu (that remains vaulted for a special occasion of all special occasions.) I was there doing what I do best – making a meal out of the complimentary light bites served at a press event.
The restaurant’s beloved chef Éric Ripert hosted fellow gourmands, food and wine editors, and several members of the old-guard, uptown social scene for the launch of his new cookbook, Seafood Simple. The name lives up to the recipes within. After flipping through the book, I jokingly summarized it to a friend: “Acquire freshly-caught bluefin Otoro from the butcher at an ancient Japanese monastery. Salty lightly. Serve.”
Jokes aside, the canapés floating around Le Bernardin’s hallowed dining room sampled recipes from the book: the scallop ceviche was light as a feather, shocked by a lightning bolt of lemon, the satisfying crunch of the smoked salmon “croque-monsieur” conjured visions of a young Ripert comforted by his grandmother (for whom the recipe is dedicated to) and the tarragon lobster bisque was a herbal howdy of frothed summertime flavors.