Eric Ripert, chef and co-owner of 3 Michelin-starred Le Bernardin, one of the world’s leading seafood restaurants, cooks hundreds of meals for health workers every day in collaboration with World Center Kitchen and prepares his plans for Le Bernardin after the pandemic.

Eric Ripert, chef and co-owner of the 3 Michelin-starred Le Bernardin, collaborates with World Center Kitchen, founded by José Andres, to prepare hundreds of meals for health workers every day. The French chef, who opened one of his restaurants in Manhattan on Wednesday last week, prepares 400 meals every day with four of his 180 currently unemployed staff. “For now it’s important to help out the overall community, specifically doctors and nurses,” Ripert told AFP. Although he spends his time supporting the health workers who worked in the front line during the pandemic, the celebrity chef also continues to think about Le Bernardin’s post-virus status. “it definitely won’t be the same Bernardin it was before the closure,” said chef Ripert, adding that they would still retain the experience they had experienced before. “There will have to be more space between the tables and less capacity,” Ripert said, stressing that staff would use masks, gloves and plenty of disinfectant. But he also said he plans to reduce the number of staff from 180 to 40 or 50.