Le Bernardin Cookbook: Four-Star Simplicity

Le Bernardin, New York's only four-star seafood restaurant, is renowned not only for its impeccable cuisine but also for its understated elegance. Now the Le Bernardin experience is made accessible to everyone in more than 100 meticulously formulated and carefully tested recipes for all courses, from appetizers through dessert.

The food served in Le Bernardin's beautiful dining room is as subtle and refined as any in the world, and because fish and shellfish are often best turned out quickly and simply, the recipes in this book can be reproduced by any home cook.

Maguy Le Coze traces the origins of Le Bernardin's "simplicity" to her late brother, Gilbert, the restaurant's legendary cofounder and first chef: "Gilbert was not a classically trained chef," she says. "He had never been to culinary school. When he cooked, he made things he liked, and things he knew. He focused on the quality and freshness of the fish. He made nages and vinaigrettes because he'd never made a hollandaise or a béarnaise. He focused on flavors that were delicate, subtle, herb-infused."

Today, Chef Eric Ripert carries on that tradition with dishes such as Poached Halibut on Marinated Vegetables, Pan-Roasted Grouper with Wild Mushrooms and Artichokes, and Grilled Salmon with Mushroom Vinaigrette. And, of course, there are the desserts for which Le Bernardin is also so well known—from Chocolate Millefeuille to Honeyed Pear and Almond Cream Tarts.

Essential to the experience of dining at Le Bernardin and to the Le Bernardin Cookbook are the dynamic and charming personalities of Maguy Le Coze and Eric Ripert, whose lively dialogue and colorful anecdotes shine from these pages as brightly as the recipes themselves.

Winner of The Food & Wine best of the best Award

A mecca for seafood lovers from around the globe, Le Bernardin belongs to that most select of groups -- New York City's four-star restaurants. Now co-founder Maguy Le Coze and chef Eric Ripert have collaborated on a cookbook that adapts the restaurant's sublime specialties for the home cook, with surprisingly accessible results. Contributing editor Judith Choate spoke to Maguy Le Coze about the book, her life at the restaurant, and the legacy of her beloved brother and the original chef of Le Bernardin, the late Gilbert Le Coze.

Publishers Weekly

The first cookbook from Le Coze (owner) and Ripert (executive chef) of Le Bernardin, New York City's only four-star seafood restaurant, may spark the frustration of readers who have had difficulty getting a reservation at this culinary landmark. Such an appetizer such as Poached Baby Lobster on Asparagus and Cepe Risotto, or entrees like Pepper and Fennel-Crusted Salmon with Shallot-Madeira Sauce and Truffle-Scented Polenta promise a nirvana-like experience that will be hard to replicate at home (despite the collection's subtitle). This is four-star restaurant fare prepared by a master (and staff), requiring of home cooks a source of ultra-fresh seafood, deftness in esthetic presentation and considerable patience. There are some widely useful tips -- capitalize on fresh herbs; use top-quality ingredients -- and some recipes are indeed simple, e.g., Salmon Baked with Tomato and Mint; Broiled Shrimp with Garlic Butter; and Coffee Creme are within reach of anyone. But many recipes will challenge adventurous chefs. Baked Sea Urchins require nerve and dexterity. Salmon and Black Truffle Strudels aren't even attempted at the restaurant when it's busy, says Le Coze, and Ripert admits it took him two weeks to master Lobster with Coral Sauce, Asparagus, and Mushrooms. With an introduction recalling the restaurant's history, opened by Le Coze with her late brother Gilbert, this volume illustrates the best that a restaurant cookbook can offer, as well as the drawbacks.

Maguy Le Coze and her brother, Gilbert, opened the original Le Bernardin in Paris in 1972 and won their first Michelin star in 1976. In New York, Le Bernardin opened in 1986 and received its first four-star rating from the New York Times three months later.

Born in Andorra, Eric Ripert worked with two world-famous chefs—Joel Robuchon in Paris and Jean-Louis Palladin in Washington, D.C.—before joining Le Bernardin as Executive Chef in 1991. Upon Gilbert's death in 1994, he took over the kitchen completely.