“I’m incredibly flattered. James Beard and I smoked a shitload of tarragon back in the day, so this means a great deal to me. What a great day for journalism.”
Breaking the glass ceiling: Ruth Bourdain tops Slashfood’s “Sexy Chefs: 10 Hottest Men in the Food Industry 2011”
SI: Okay, probably you get asked this question a lot, but who do you think [famously anonymous Twitter mashup] Ruth Bourdain is?
ER: Ah. I think I have an idea, but I don’t want to say because I don’t want to kill it. But I think I know who it is. I would love to be wrong.
SI: Do you know this person?
ER: I think I do. [Laughs.] I think I do. But I cannot say more than that, and I’m probably wrong because I discussed it with Anthony Bourdain. I said, Anthony what do you think, and he said, No, it’s not possible. I studied the pattern of the tweets and the other person’s tweets and the style of writing and so on. It’s definitely a writer.
SI: Yeah, a non-writer wouldn’t come up with something like this.
ER: Of course it’s a writer. But Anthony doesn’t think I’m right, so. But it’s not him. Well, he says it’s not him, but I don’t know. I believe him because he’s my friend, but he may lie to me too. But he can’t, because sometimes he’s with me and we see it appearing.
SI: Well, that’s good to know. Don’t think it’s Ruth Reichl either.
ER: No, no, it’s not Ruth, that’s for sure. Ruth, no way.
Q & A With Eric Ripert, Part 2: Celebrity Chefs, Spago’s Spies + The Identity of Ruth Bourdain [LA Weekly]