Ricardo and Friends

by Luc Boulanger, Montréal, Quebec

You could say that Ricardo Larrivée is an artist: a brilliant culinary artist who has a talent for making friends. An expert in the preparation of simple and delicious meals, he enjoys cooking for his French-speaking viewers so much that he couldn’t refuse his producer’s challenge of hosting a cooking show in English. When you love people the way he does, can you really turn down the opportunity to come into the homes of millions of viewers through the magic of television? It’s as impossible as making wine without grapes!

Discovering the Prairies
Ricardo Larrivée found his calling “by accident.” At the end of the 1980s, after studying hotel and tourism at the Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec in Montréal, he knew he didn’t want to spend his life in an office and decided to enrol in Communications at Ottawa’s Algonquin College. Two years later, the young graduate got a job as a technician at the French-language Radio-Canada station... in Regina, Saskatchewan. He spoke some English, but this bilingual position gave him the opportunity to perfect his second language. And so, the adventure began!

“I had just as many English-speaking friends as I did French-speaking friends in Regina. I even worked at establishing French schools in Saskatchewan and wrote for the French-language Saskatchewan weekly L'Eau-vive,” he recalled.

After work, Ricardo kept himself busy... in the kitchen, of course! “In less than a year, I think that half of the radio station employees had tried my dishes.” It was in Regina that he discovered the perfect recipe for making new friends: every weekend, he would invite people over for a delicious meal and a delightful evening. His bosses immediately noticed his love of cooking and offered him a weekly feature about international cuisine, for radio and later for television.

“My professional and adult life began in Saskatchewan. At 22, I was given the opportunity to earn a living talking about my passion: food. I also learned about multiculturalism, the natural wonders of the Prairies, the beautiful skies and the raw and unique landscape of the Badlands,” recalled the popular chef.

The road to success
Back in Quebec, in the mid-1990s, Ricardo worked for the newspaper La Presse and the TVA show Les Saisons de Clodine. He met the love of his life, his partner Brigitte Coutu, a nutritionist, and they now have three adorable daughters.

From feature to feature and from project to project, this master of the kitchen has worked his way up the ladder of success. After giving his recipes and tips in French for a long time, including on his daily television show Ricardo, which he has been hosting for Radio-Canada for the last seven years, he now also has an English-language show, Ricardo and Friends, on the Food Network. His culinary magazine Ricardo is now published in both official languages and distributed all across Canada, just like his recipe books, his special issue magazines and everything else.

Two languages are better than one
When Ricardo was a child, his Italian godfather from New York, who was friends with his parents, spoke to him in English and Ricardo would answer back in French. “Today, I do the same thing with my three daughters,” explains the 41-year-old father. “I speak to them in English at the end of the day, at dinner time. Each of them also gets a turn coming with me on my promotional tours to Toronto or Vancouver so they can learn about the Canadian reality. In my opinion, you shouldn’t force a child to learn a language. It’s better to show them how to appreciate the language, by proving that it is beneficial to master a second language. When my daughters see me talking passionately about cooking with strangers in the Maritimes or out West, they realize that it is an asset.”

In one of the four kitchens that he has transformed into a studio, at his home in Chambly, Montérégie, the TV host often films several episodes in one day, going from English to French and vice versa. He knows that he still has things to learn, so he follows the advice of an English teacher who gives him private lessons several hours per week. “We work on my intonation so that it flows naturally on television, and also to stop me from translating from French to English in my head while I’m speaking. Since starting Ricardo and Friends in October 2006, I have enjoyed speaking English and playing with the words, synonyms and subtleties of the language more than ever. However, I don’t want to lose my Québécois accent, because my accent reflects my personality!” he added, with a big smile.

Ricardo took a chance when he decided not to change his style just to appeal to English-speaking viewers. “I hope they like me as I am. If Céline Dion could do it in music, I can certainly try to do it in cooking!” he laughed.

Eat better, eat locally
Ricardo is a strong advocate for regional cuisine. He wants to use his new national platform to help promote diverse local cuisines to all of Canada. “We have to eat according to the region we live in, the nature that surrounds us. Our geographic location influences—or should influence—the way we cook. There is also the past and culture to think about. Quebec is more naturally influenced by Europe, while British Columbia is more influenced by Asia.”

The salt of the earth
The Ricardo whom millions of Canadians know through television is not just pretending to be nice. Far from acting like a typical star when the camera is off, he develops special relationships with everybody who crosses his path. The employees at the Montréal publisher of his magazines can vouch for this! When Ricardo arrives, he instantly lights up the room. He takes the time to greet, motivate and thank all of the employees, from the receptionist to the executives, to the graphic designers and sales representatives. He then goes to his television producer’s office and, there too, he makes the rounds with the same warmth and attention.

The cream of the crop
His talent, charisma and good humour have made Ricardo a public figure loved by Quebec and the rest of Canada. But the key to his success is his generosity and his ability to bring people together. Ricardo is always surrounded by people. He is a team player, a family man and a person who really enjoys life. He loves the world and the world loves him back. With him, talking, cooking and eating in English, just like in French, is a piece of cake!

To find out more about Ricardo, visit:

www.radio-canada.ca/television/ricardo (in French only)
www.foodtv.ca/ricardoandfriends
www.editionsgesca.ca/home.aspx

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Credits

Credits: Courtoisie Ricardo Média