If Isabelle Deschamps Plante had doubts about viewers’ reaction to the idea of her succeeding Ricardo in animating Radio-Canada’s morning cooking show, she was quickly reassured.
As soon as she shared the information on social networks, on April 2, after her mentor made the announcement on the set of Tout le monde en parle, she said she was “overflowing with love,” she says in an interview with the Journal.
Isabelle Deschamps Plante, who worked on the Ricardo show for five years, understood that Quebecers had already adopted her.
“I understand that those close to me are happy, but it touched me that people thought Ricardo made the right choice. I cried for an hour reading the news. I couldn’t believe people’s faith in me.”
“Ricardo is a legend”
Former double finalist and current jury member of the culinary competition Les chefs! will host a cooking show three times a week, which will largely respect the formula that has made Ricardo so successful for 21 years: offering simple recipes.
Associates Marie-Ève Charron and Éliza Prévost remain at his side.
Her show, which does not yet have a title, will therefore be part of the continuity because, she often repeats in interviews, we cannot replace Ricardo.
“Ricardo is a legend. No one in Quebec has managed to have a daily newspaper and go into people’s homes for 21 years. It is irreplaceable everything he has driven [sa femme] Bridget. It’s an empire. For my part, I’ll start with my first show and we’ll see (laughs). I will enjoy my chance to be there.”
Photo Pierre Paul Poulin
Isabelle Deschamps Plante has started preparations for the premiere of her TV show this fall.
reverse roles
When he leaves animation, Ricardo will never be far from the kitchen. He will be a producer on Isabelle’s show and a trainer on the latter.
In the category “The Roles Are Reversed” we will even see him regularly as an employee. “He comes every week and shows us finds, recipes, favourites,” says the host happily.
Filming will begin in mid-August with a view to first broadcasts in September. Isabelle Deschamps Plante, who has been teaching animation for two years, is very excited.
“It surprises me because I’m a stressed girl, but I can’t wait to start this project, I can’t wait to be with people to show how I cook. I think that’s really cool.”
“In the fall, Ricardo brought up the point that he didn’t want to come back. When asked if I was interested, I said yes without hesitation. People don’t know it, but since I’ve been working at Ricardo, I’ve also been a chef for the magazine. The recipes that Ricardo publishes are often mine. I know its ecosystem very well.”
“I never thought I would do a TV show. By doing and as a juror with the bosses! I realized that this is an area that I really like. I think a TV looks like a kitchen. It’s very family friendly, the teams are tight-knit, you never know how the days will turn out.
“I like the educational side of TV, the sharing of knowledge. I’ve already done this with the restaurant teams. Doing it on a larger scale, reaching people in their homes, turns me on. I don’t want people to remember me on TV, but when they’re hosting the weekend I want them to say: This is an Isa recipe.
“When you develop a recipe, sometimes it works the first time, but sometimes you have to repeat it 12-13-14 times. Like a cake, it has to be perfect. After that someone will test the recipe and if there are any problems with the test we will test it again. Sometimes you have to rework it. It’s a great process to make any recipe foolproof and easy to make for people to make at home. It looks simple, but it’s complex.
“There are so many new products and new trends. Food changes so much that it’s not that difficult to innovate.”