Eater SF did a Facebook Live broadcast yesterday with thrice-Michelin-starred chef Eric Ripert, of Le Bernardin in New York. Ripert was in town this week promoting his new cooking memoir 32 Yolks: From My Mother's Table to Working the Line, and Eater's Stefanie Tudor walked around the Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market talking about what's in season here versus what he's finding in New York.
Also, he discussed his experience dining at Saison last week. "They're very inspiring with the way they cook," Ripert says, "using a lot of wood, cooking close to the coal and the ashes... it's a very very interesting process. The food is top-notch."
And regarding fine dining here versus New York, he says, "Obviously each city has its own soul. Fine dining in California is really inspired by the region... California's always relaxed, and you can find that in fine dining. On the East Coast in a big city like New York, you're very inspired by all the cultures that [collide] there... Maybe we have a little more European influence on fine dining in New York where here there is more Asian influence."
As for service, he says New York restaurants are becoming a lot more relaxed just like they are here because "People want to have a good time. They're not going to a restaurant just to whisper."