Skill expansion
“I would love to expand my culinary skills. I feel very comfortable when it comes to cooking and making pastries, but I would love to explore more specialized areas, like charcuteries, fermentation and viennoiserie.”
- Isabelle, Café RICARDO Executive Chef and Cooking Show Host
THEME
Isabelle's Recipes
Cooking more healthful and creative recipes
“This year, I would like to explore healthier recipes all without giving up on indulgence. The goal is not to deprive myself, but rather to adapt the way I cook so that it’s more balanced but still creative and flavourful. It’ll be a great opportunity to experiment, test lighter options, and maybe even reinvent some of my favourite dishes.”
- Sébastien, Manager of Food Product and Accessory Development, and Restaurant Consultant
THEME
Healthy
Discovering different cuisines
“For my part, I’d like to discover more world cuisines. I want to broaden my horizons and feel like my cooking is richer and more diverse. Foods from South Asia, from Pakistan to Indonesia, are of particular interest to me.”
- Etienne, Senior Creative Chef
THEME
World Cuisine
Entertaining more often
“With the cost of eating out constantly going up, I would like to host more meals at home. There are so many ways to go about it, whether a casual happy hour around the kitchen island or a sit-down meal at the dinner table. And hosting doesn’t mean doing all the cooking yourself; potlucks are a great option, too.”
- Laurence, Culinary Creation and Standardization Chef
Learning with others
“I would like to spend more time cooking with others–friends, family members, or even other people in the culinary industry. It’s a great way to learn; exchanging ideas, discovering others’ favourites, their tips, and simply having more fun in the kitchen. These shared moments can forge a special bond, and that helps me retain advice and recipes even better. And when I recreate their recipe or follow their piece of advice, I’ll think of them, and suddenly, everything will just taste better!”
- Alexane, Culinary Creation and Standardization Chef
A breath of fresh air
“In the restaurant world, there’s no holding back when it comes to butter, cream, salt and so on. In 2025, I want a breath of fresh air and to try making healthier recipes without compromising on taste. It would also be a great way to teach my young children about healthy food that still tastes good.”
- Jeremy, Café RICARDO Kitchen Manager
Read this article to meet the members of our RICARDO Test Kitchen: