Eric Ripert was born on March 2, 1965 in France. He is a French chef, author and television personality specializing in modern French cuisine and noted for his work with seafood. Ripert's flagship restaurant, Le Bernardin, located in New York City, has been ranked among the best restaurants in the world by culinary magazines and S. Pellegrino's annual list of "The World's 50 Best Restaurants" It holds the maximum ratings of four stars from The New York Times and three stars from the Michelin Guide. Ripert has made several guest appearances on cooking-based television shows, including guest judge and assistant chef roles on the second, third, fourth and fifth seasons of Bravo TV's "Top Chef". Chef Ripert had been considered to join season 8 of Top Chef as a permanent judge, but bowed out when his employee Jen Caroll was selected as a contestant again. He has authored several cookbooks including: Le Bernardin Cookbook, A Return to Cooking, My Best: Eric Ripert, and 32 Yolks: From My Mother's Table to Working the Line. (Bowker Author Biography)