Peruvian Inspiration with Chef Eric Ripert

Gathering photos for his next book “Crossing Borders,” Battman met up with Eric Ripert, Chef and Owner of Le Bernardin. Comprised of black bass, ceviche and chicha sauce, the dish was finely captured by Battman’s lens. Here’s a look at the behind-the-scenes photo shoot and the inside scoop on Ripert’s ingredients:

“We made the sauce with chicha. The real chicha was something that the Incas were masticating. They were spitting it in a bucket and then it fermented. They were offering that to their guests. Obviously, centuries later, chicha is made in the factory, almost like a beer. It is drinkable; it has a very low content of alcohol. It has a very particular taste that you cannot find in anything. We did a black bass with a ceviche and chicha sauce. We buy chicha from someone in New Jersey that the Peruvian community uses. There are different kinds of chicha, but this is the one we like. They put a lot of lime juice in it to give it contrast. This dish comes from the mountains of Peru.”