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Ricardo Larivee Has Arrived
By Malcolm Jolley
Ricardo Larivée hit English Canada this fall with a Food Network show, Ricardo & Friends, an English version of his magazine Ricardo (currently Canada's sole food-only newsstand glossy) and Weekend Cooking a cookbook of his favourite recipes. Press descriptions invariably describe him as "Canada's Jamie Oliver" and it's true that he shares Naked's high-energy and love of family, but his cuisine is rooted in his home country and express a Quebecois earthiness that is as refreshing as it is comforting. I caught up to Ricardo a few weeks ago in Toronto.
Gremolata: You put yourself out there. Your show, your book, your magazine is very much about yourself and your family.
Ricardo: Well, it's about family: whether that's two people or fifteen, it doesn't matter. You know, we rush around all day and then we come home to have dinner and it goes by so quickly, it's like we can't slow down. Especially if there's not a lot of you: if you're just two or alone. You still need to take a moment. This is what I would like people to do: take a moment with a friend, or whoever you want, just to relax. And something’s going to come up! Don’t worry that you won't have anything to say. This is how we create bonds with food. If you have nothing to say, you can always talk about the food!
Gremolata: I agree, but how did you become a professional at this?
Ricardo Larivée: By luck. I studied Hotel Management in Montréal, but I knew it wasn't for me, so I went back to school in Ottawa where I met a friend from Saskatchewan, where I took a summer job at a TV Station. To meet people I had dinner parties all the time and people started to talk about it: "You have to go to Ricardo's place, the food is great." so, this comes to the attention of the Station Director, who says, "it's summer relief and we need someone to go on air and talk about food."
Gremolata: What was your first dish?
Ricardo Larivée: Israeli food.
Gremolata: What?
Ricardo Larivée: Oh yeah. It took everything in me to find out where it was on the map! And I was really scared because I thought, 'what if there are people from Israel watching?' so I went to the library and took out every book and cooked and cooked - I didn't sleep for two days. And it was Regina, not Toronto, so I had problems to find the right cheeses and things like that. And, without knowing it, I started to create who I am. I was saying, "You know what? Don't try that book, the ingredients are impossible to find and I've replaced them with this and this. So I didn't talk about Jewish culture, I just talked about a guy who was trying to cook Jewish food. I just picked things based on the image, what looked good - exactly like anyone else does. And it became very popular.
Gremolata: And when the summer was over?
Ricardo Larivée: I came back to Montréal and started doing more of this. But you know, for three years I tried to find a real job. I was thinking, 'who's making a living out of cooking? It's not normal.' Then one day I realised I was paying all the bills. So I decided to learn as much as I can, to be as good as I can be. And now that's 15 years ago.
Gremolata: So, this is not an overnight success.
Ricardo Larivée: No. It's become a business with people working for me and branding and all that. But it started slowly. When we created the magazine in French, five years ago, there were three of us sitting around the table. Now we're thirty.
Gremolata: Your magazine, Ricardo, is completely dedicated to food.
Ricardo Larivée: The only Canadian magazine completely dedicated to food. And whether it's in French or it's in English, it's the same thing. There are a lot of magazines in this country with food, but I wanted something more like Saveur or Gourmet or Elle Cuisine.
Gremolata: That's got to be difficult: to talk to a national audience?
Ricardo Larivée: I can't fake something. The food has to be me. If I grew up in Newfoundland, I'm sure my food would be different. You know, when I read something by Donna Hay, I expect it to be different, to be from Australia. That's what attracts me to it. In Canada you have extremes, like from PEI to Vancouver. But Montréal/Toronto it's starting to be a lot the same. You have two big cities with multi-ethnic influences and big markets: you can do whatever you want. The world is there. But outside it's a little different.
I'll give you an example. I was used to using a lot of what we call in French 'cooking cream'. It's like the 35% but they add stabilisers to it so when you cook with it won't separate. But nobody outside of Quebec, except maybe Ottawa and parts of New Brunswick, can find it. So I'm not using it anymore.
Or honey. On the TV show I use apple blossom honey from Oka outside of Montréal. But everyone can relate to someone whose making special honey in their region. You have to cook with what's around you: if you have to change a recipe, change it.
Gremolata: You support local and artisanal food makers.
Ricardo Larivée: We have a lot of power as consumers. We can make a difference. But you have to ask for things. Go to the butcher and ask for a special cut of meat. They don't mind. They are there to give us what we want.
Gremolata: You have sweetbread recipes in your book.
Ricardo Larivée: Yes! They're so good.
Gremolata: You also have a 'Health' section in your magazines. How does that fit?
Ricardo Larivée: There is something pejorative about health and food. Before being healthy, I want it to be good. If I cook something for you, I don't want you to say, "Ah, this is really healthy!" I would be insulted! The goal is to make something that tastes good. If it's healthy on top of that, fine. Whatever I'm doing it has to be about pleasure and sharing.
I called the English book Weekend Cooking because on the French show I was cooking everyday. So for this one, I wanted to slow down and cook for friends and family. And when I say, "I'm a family guy," I mean also my friends without children, or who are single mothers or fathers. That's for me a family. It's broad; it's who you can sit down with. It's more a vision of being protective of the people you love.
Gremolata: Your family certainly gets involved in the show and books, magazines.
Ricardo Larivée: Everywhere!
Gremolata: The show is actually shot in your house, isn't it?
Ricardo Larivée: Yes, because my wife [Brigitte Coutu] had breast cancer. She's the producer of the show and the head of the magazine - I am only the employee. So this is how we found a way of managing our three kids, the work and all that. So there was 25 people in my house everyday. But I picked them, not only because they are the best, but also because we had an affinity. So in the morning it was like a huge family, so when they arrive it didn't feel like an invasion, it felt like a big party.
Gremolata: It didn't drive you crazy?
Ricardo Larivée: It doesn't. It's part of life and it's not happening everyday. And, you know, those people were there because they were good, we trust them and they want our lives to be comfortable, so I really enjoyed it. And my kids: it was a fight to get them up and have breakfast before school. Then, they were running down the stairs to see everyone in the morning. Plus I saved two hours everyday. Montréal is an island, so I spend two hours a day on abridge driving back and forth to my home. So it was two more hours with my family.
Gremolata: And how is your wife?
Ricardo Larivée: She's feeling better. She's still not perfect, but she's feeling better. In Quebec, there's a lot of people who know about this, and we’ve raised awareness. But now I know how hard it is when you're sick, whether it's breast cancer or something else. How tough it is just to bring the family together for a meal. I'm talking about my wife, but it could be any mother or father. When someone is sick I think you need even more to have food as something to hold everything together, so you feel like you are a team with people around you and you share something.
You know, for me everything is about the family. I think the stores should all be closed on Sunday and all you do is have a meal with the people you love.
Gremolata: In Europe, they seem to know this. You can only shop at certain times, because the shopkeepers are having lunch, or taking Sunday off.
Ricardo Larivée: Exactly! And it's fun, because it's a ritual. A lot of people are not as religious as they were, so we have to find new rituals. That was one good thing about religion: the rituals were always blended with food habits. How can you imagine Christmas without food?
But it can be everyday as well. That's what I'm trying to do with the show and the magazine and the book: show people that it's shorter to make it than to order it, and cheaper. And it's not going to be tough and complicated. People are better than they think! People ask me what's the toughest thing in cooking and I tell them there's nothing that's tough. You just need self-confidence. It's like anythin
Gremolata: if you do it enough times you get better and you gain confidence. And you know, when you start cooking, your house starts to smell like a home, you can relax with a glass of wine, or just a Perrier - whatever. And it's all worth it.
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