I love that Eric hosts those summits on the Cayman Islands.
He is the only top chef that does not make a silly show and tries to seem more important than the other chefs on the island. Great character.

i was surprised to see many non-positive comments about this episode. in specific concerns that this episode was not indicative of the personality Eric shows in other episodes, and/or also something about competition versus Anthony Bourdain.the stingray scene is A+ representative, to me, of the joy and positive energy Eric shows that is one of the primary reasons he has such a unique renoun for me.the nighttime beach cookout is also consistent with my impression of his camaraderie for other chefs, and i found that he was enjoying and appreciating the value that other chefs (ie Bourdain) offered.the interview scene with Chef Chang reiterated to me Eric's strong command of English as well as his receptiveness to the benefits of sharing with others in his community.i found Ripert to be both highly interesting as well as consistent with the personality that i appreciate and seek in this program.i would love to have face-to-face conversations with those who appear (to me) to have disliked this episode, as i am very interested in some elaboration on the topic of why they did not enjoy this episode.i am thankful that hulu and PBS have made this content available to me, and am glad to have the chance to express in pubic that this show has enhanced my enjoyment of more than just cooking.cook from life!

I understand many of the comments before me. In this episode Ripert isn't as interesting or connected to the audience as he usually is. While I still enjoyed the show, this may not be the greatest episode to watch for first-timers.
In addition to that, comparing Ripert to Bourdain is unreasonable. They may be friends but clearly from their two different shows and their radio show together, they have two different styles.