Ricardo Larrivée

In the 1980s, Larrivée enrolled in the Institut de tourisme et d'hôtellerie du Québec (ITHQ), a hospitality institute in Quebec, where he studied hotel management. He studied communications in Ottawa.[2]

Larrivée moved to Regina, Saskatchewan, and accepted a job as a technician at Radio-Canada.[3] He created both simple and elaborate dishes in his spare time and gained a reputation as a good cook. He was hired to present a food show on Radio-Canada. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation was experiencing lay-offs, however, and Larrivée was one of those let go.[2]

Larrivée moved back to Montreal and had the opportunity to share his recipes while working as a food reporter for television, radio and newspapers. At Radio-Canada, he contributed to several television shows, including Menu à la carte, Pêché mignon, Secrets de famille, Indicatif présent, Christiane Charrette and Beau temps pour s'étendre, in addition to appearing on Saisons de Clodine on the TVA television network. He also wrote a column in the lifestyle section of the daily newspaper La Presse and he continues to be a regular collaborator in the Saturday edition.

In 2002, Larrivée created a new TV show, Ricardo, which is shot in his home kitchen in Chambly, Quebec.[3] He also begun to publish a magazine at the same time.[2] This show became the longest-running cooking show in Canada.[4] In 2006, Ricardo and Friends began to run on Food Network and lasted to three years. His cooking show employs about 125 people[5] and is shown in about 160 countries.[3]

Larrivée and his wife, Brigitte Coutu, operate a company headquartered in Saint-Lambert where recipes are tested and the magazines are created.[3] Over the years, he published many books. Since 2009, he also has his own website.[4]

In 2014, Larrivée was named a Member of the Order of Canada.[6] The same year, Ricardo opened a new headquarters in a Montreal suburb.[7] He has operated a restaurant in the greater Montreal area since 2016, named Café Ricardo, which will later expands to three cafés.[5]

On April 20, 2023, the celebrity chef announced in a podcast that he is leaving the TV kitchen after 21 seasons and nearly 3,000 episodes.[8]

• Ma cuisine weekend (La Presse August 5, 2004 ISBN 2-923194-05-5, ISBN 978-2-923194-05-9)
• La chimie des desserts: 60 recettes de Ricardo PER Christina Blais (La Presse, 2007, ISBN 2-923194-36-5, ISBN 978-2-923194-36-3)
• Ricardo - Parce qu'on a tous de la visite (La Presse, October 2008, ISBN 2-923194-96-9, ISBN 9782923194967)
• Weekend Cooking co-written with Christian LaCroix (Whitecap Books April 5, 2006 ISBN 1-55285-787-5, ISBN 978-1-55285-787-8)
• Meals for every occasion (2009)
• La mijoteuse - de la lasagne à la crème brûlée (2012)
• Slow Cooker Favourites (2013)
• La Mijoteuse 2 (2015)
• Un Québécois dans votre cuisine, in France (2016)
• Mon premier livre de recettes (La Presse, 2015, ISBN 978-2-89705-448-9)
• Slower is Better, (HarperCollins, 2016)[5]
• Plus de légumes (2018)
• Ultimate Slow Cooker (2018)
• Le Quiz des aliments (2019)
• Vegetable First (2019)
• À la plaque (2020)
• Sheet Pan Everything (2021)

• Official website
• Ricardo on Radio-Canada.ca (in French)