Finally, a Highbrow Cooking Show

A plate of food is set down: warm langoustine, seared over a salad of mache spinach, with buna shimeji and maitake mushrooms, white-balsamic and brown-butter vinaigrette, and shaved foie gras. Ostensibly, this is just lunch. But to the mastermind behind the combination—Le Bernardin executive chef and co-owner Eric Ripert, who is regarding his plate with poised fork and thoughtful gaze—it is an edible meditation on the Zen ethos to which he subscribes. (Story continued below...)

"The way I see life, everything is spiritual," he says. "We live on Earth, we are omnivores, the nature of human beings is to eat meat and fruits and vegetables, and therefore we have to kill animals. I don't have a problem with that. But it's a sacred moment."

He pauses.

"It's a gift of life," he says. And then he takes a bite.

Inexorable respect for food is the Ripert way—and following that enlightened path has landed him an incredible résumé for his 44 years. First four-starred by The New York Times at 29, Ripert is a published author of multiple books and a recognizable TV star, thanks to "fan favorite" guest-judging stints on Bravo's reality cooking series, Top Chef. There's also the small matter of the day job: a hands-on position at the helm of New York's Le Bernardin, one of the world's most hallowed cathedrals to food. This month he adds to the list Avec Eric, a PBS venture in which he stars; it's part ecotourist travelogue, part cooking show, and part behind-the-scenes documentary at the midtown Manhattan mother ship of his restaurant.