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If "celebrity chef" Eric Ripert had never become the latter, he'd likely still be the former.

by Drew Lazor

If "celebrity chef" Eric Ripert had never become the latter, he'd likely still be the former, given the Frenchman's lady-catnip smile, loose-collar nonchalance and seemingly indestructible head of surgically styled silver hair (a trait ruefully skewered by friend Anthony Bourdain in the foreword to Ripert's new cookbook/travelogue). But the Le Bernardin chef, who's got operations around the world (including 10 Arts here in Philadelphia), has succeeded in cultivating a sincere sense of culinary stewardship in the midst of his Top Chef judging, PBS hosting and cookbook writing.

While many are quick to lambast the Lagasses and Flays of the world for spending more time talking about cooking on camera than actually working their kitchens, Ripert's conditioned his image to serve as a standing response to such criticism: Knives and chef's whites first, everything else second. He'll have you know, and unwaveringly so, that he puts in his work — just see 2002's A Return to Cooking, or 2008's peek inside Le Bernardin, On the Line.

Funny, then, that the appeal of Avec Eric (Wiley, Nov. 8), the companion volume to his public television program of the same name, lies in Ripert's line-abandoning wanderlust. With each chapter serving as addendums to various episodes of the show, the book runs through the chef's trips to food-nerd pushpin destinations (Tuscany, Northern Cali, the Cayman Islands), Ripert's tweedy penmanship captioning photos in a faux scrapbook format

Whether he's trudging after wild boar in Chianti or fraternizing with fishmongers in Livorno, the chef writes with an approachable ease, speaking often of inspiration and interpretation.

But he keeps such personal asides brief to make room for a gang of lusty, home-cook-friendly recipes: crab-stuffed zucchini flowers with mustard butter sauce, wild boar ragu with pappardelle and porcinis, "barely cooked" scallops in Champagne beurre blanc.

Hearty little footnotes, offering sound bites on topics like heirloom vegetables, sustainable seafood and wine pairing, fill the bottom margins.

Avec Eric is at its most interesting when Ripert breaks down how a bite of this or a slug of that on a journey leads him to a fully realized plate — a plucked-from-the-water bit of briny sea lettuce from an oyster farm becomes a salad; a visit to a Sonoma County apiary begets eight dishes using honey. The celebrity chef is quick to remind you he's in his kitchen, but what he gathers outside it benefits us, too.

(drew.lazor@citypaper.net)