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"Costco: it's both terrifying and impressive. "
"And there is a wicked genius at work, mixing the organic with the terribly processed."

So true. Costco freaks me out too, but for certain items it's hard to beat.

I don't think this makes Ripert a food snob. There may be some deals but most of it is processed, frozen stuff and really who the hell needs that much mayonnaise, Wheat Thins or beef jerky?

I cook for a family of 2 and Costco doesn't make sense for us and people are often shocked that I don't have a membership. A few times a year I'll tag along with someone with a membership thinking that I'm missing out and when I get there it's always such an unpleasant experience and never worth it.

I don't know that I'd say food snob per se, but it's very, very unrealistic to lament that people don't have access to fresh awesome food. Costco is way above what he'd be looking at if he went to Safeway or Wal Mart. Good ingredients are expensive and scarce. That's reality. I wish we could all afford to go to the best farmers markets and that great produce was available to us without having to go out of the way. If he thinks Costco is soulless he is pretty detached from the reality of most people. Still an absolutely amazing chef though.

This is just silly.

Compare CostCo to 99% of supermarkets, CostCo has higher quality meat, fresher produce, sometimes better selection. For instance the cheese section at CostCo is incredible.

Where does he think food at markets comes from? Farmers making deliveries to Vons? No, it all comes from giant distribution centers that stock the same onions, apples, and so on as CostCo carries.

I like Costco. I have a two-person household and we don't really eat that much, but I still enjoy shopping there, maybe because I like window-shopping even for food. There are some things (like dryer sheets and paper towels) that we will only buy there because the quality is so high. I wish I could buy more of the produce, but we would never use it up in time.

high quality dryer sheets, paper towels and produce? are you freakin' kidding me???? you'd think you were talking about saks fifth avenue. it's the same crap that's at walmart, just in disgustingly large, shrink wrapped quantities.

Hah, I love that crazy silver fox!

At least he didn't go to Sam's Club! I always thought of Costco as being sort of the classier of the two.

I agree with his opinion (although it got a little annoying after the 10th time he called it the "evil empire" while praising the quality) but I'm still a member for the cheap paper towels, tp, oatmeal, etc and some products are not terrible. I try to buy local, unprocessed, organic, chemical/preservative/dye-free food as much as possible, and if you read the labels you can find some things that are pretty good. I live in New England and some commodities - like oats for oatmeal - are just not grown here. Might as well get the best price and Costco has it.

In the warmer months I shop almost exclusively at farmers markets for fresh, local produce. But in the winter, no matter where I shop, it's not coming from the farm down the street, so I may as well go for the cheap stuff at Costco. You couldn't pay me to eat their meats though.

I was a big Costco shopper when I lived in New England...I stayed away from the processed and pre-made stuff and stuck to raw ingredients and I always thought the quality of the meat, seafood, and produce were top notch. However, there is a huge difference when you compare the Costco experience to a French produce market--if you ever have the opportunity to visit France you will be amazed at how different the produce are. Imagine fruit that smell like fruit (before you even cut into them), and brilliant unwaxed peppers, velvety figs, and earthy mushrooms. That's what the guy is talking about...you don't quite get that experience at Costco. The closest thing to this experience that I've seen in the US is Whole Foods.

I love costco.

I think Ripert, now having had a costco meal, can understand why people would go to costco, but still be repulsed by the atmosphere.
I think I understand why Ripert would still never want to go back to a costco, but stick to his farmers market type shopping and procuring foods.

no need for name calling and judging... my $.02

I still love costco. the atmosphere is no different than any other, and I can still find inspiration from their ingredients, because even though they may not be from the in-state farm, is still fresh and quality.
oh, and their meats are far better than any of the other meats I can find in any other market around my house unless I want to pay double at wholefoods for their prime cut meats.

Perhaps M. Ripert needs to go to a giant Carrefour the next time he is back in France. Jammed with all those people who we are led to believe are shopping in 6 separate shops for tonight's dinner. I believe that the French invented big box stores (Les Grandes Surfaces), the big difference is the quality and variety of the food available. It is also important to remember that anything grown in France never needs to be shipped more than about 400 miles - fruits and vegetables can be harvested later and arrive in markets fresher than they can here.

Does any one else think that we are all a bunch of hypocrites. I have talked to people at my office and some of my friends about similar issues. One of my freinds stated that she likes her meat wrapped in plastic nestled in styro foam trays, she doesn't want to know where her meat comes from. So do we want nice clean, sterile, "safe" food OR do we want fresh from the slaughter house meat, veggies with dirt on them. I know I am over simplifiying, but I would be happy with a mid way point. I shop at Costco because the price is reasonable and for the most part I trust the quality of the items on offer.

I will vouch for the amazing Delice De Bourgogne triple cream brie they sell at Costco...and it's cheap, to boot.

Costco is worth it for the toilet paper, nuts, and surprisingly, the Korean pears. The pears are always super sweet. I only wish my apartment was bigger so I could shop at Costco.

I once bought, at the San Francisco Costco, fresh, whole chanterelle mushrooms for $9/lb. I don't recall ever having seen that price at any of the Paris markets I've shopped.

@judithuk - So true! The last time I went to France (in 2008) every medium to large town had a Hyper U or Casino market. Hyper U carried everything from produce to cheap furniture and clothing. Casino markets were smaller and poorer quality (DH and I came up with the slogan, "Casino. It's a gamble.")

I didn't see a lot of the specialty stores like butchers, etc. as Ripert describes. Some, but not in every village. What I enjoyed most about the French supermarkets was that all of the produce was labeled with the location of origin, which is not the case in most markets in the US.

homerun2 - AMEN! there is room in a household for both Costco and supporting local sustainable farms through farmers markets and CSA's. The truly savvy shopper will be able to discern which of the above fills each individual need on his/her shopping list. And then they can get the freshest foods, best quality and best price by choosing wisely between the two. It's not rocket science, just smart shopping.

Costco is great for many things but you can't expect an elegant experience when you go there; have realistic expectations. And then when you finish at Costco go have some fun at the farmer's market as a reward for having the patience and smarts to make the most of your dollar.