Eric Ripert’s Wife ‘Parties Every Night’ Without Him. And That’s Fine by Him: ‘We Are Opposites’ (Exclusive)

Eric Ripert is in the kitchen at his three-Michelin star French restaurant Le Bernardin from Monday through Friday. On weekends, you can often find him at the also-French, but far-less fancy New York restaurant, Balthazar.

The celebrity chef and his wife of 26 years, Sandra Ripert, have been dining there “since Balthazar has existed,” he told PEOPLE while hosting the Cayman Cookout at the Ritz Carlton, Grand Cayman from Jan. 15-20. “I order the oysters, clams and shrimp, and then I have a steak tartare, ultra-spicy, and an order of fries.”

Eric, 59, loves a good ritual. The practicing Buddhist, who shares one adult son with Sandra, wakes up at 5:30 a.m. every morning to meditate. He never tires of reporting to Le Bernardin soon after, where he has been executive chef since 1994.

“It’s not a job. It’s not work. It’s a passion — and when it’s a passion, it’s a lifestyle,” he says.

He doesn’t take off from cooking entirely on the weekends either. “My wife and I make sure that on the weekend, one night is at home and I’m cooking, and then one night we go out,” he says.

Sandra, a real estate agent, isn’t picky. “Whatever I’m giving her, she’s happy with because she doesn’t have to cook,” says Eric. “My cooking is inspired by the seasons, by what we find at the market or the grocery store.”

If Eric brings the calm and order at home, Sandra brings the fun. “We are so different. We are opposites. She’s like a José Andrés as a woman,” Eric laughs of his boisterous friend, who also headlines the Cayman Cookout. “Sandra is Puerto Rican, Latina, proud to be. She’s a New Yor-ican, actually. High energy, always moving, always doing something.”

“I’m very jealous of her,” adds Eric, “because she wakes up, she’s in good mood, and she goes to bed, she’s in good mood. And the entire day she’s in good mood, and I’m like, ‘How can she do that?’ She’s a ball of pure positive energy.”

Their complementing personalities were on full display at the Cayman Cookout. While Sandra was grooving effortlessly on the dance floor at one of the festival’s late-night pool parties, Eric was stoically sipping a flute of champagne and admiring her from the sidelines. (If an after-hours fête isn’t your speed, the annual festival has plenty else to offer. Events range from an intimate charcuterie lunch to a private jet experience to Jamaica with Craggy Range Winery to visit the GoldenEye resort where Ian Fleming dreamt up James Bond.)

Back in New York, it’s a similar dynamic for the Riperts. “She goes out very often because she shouldn’t be waiting for me every night to come back home from the restaurant,” says Eric. “So she goes out every night, and she parties every night!”

Compromise is one of the secrets to their long marriage. The rest is simple: “You cannot be selfish,” says Eric. “You have to be generous in the relationship. You have to be patient, too. You have to love each other.” A standing date for French food doesn’t hurt either.