The call has gone out to find the sexiest men living as Salon embarks on its annual quest of the same, and our standards were high--the men had to be smart, sophisticated, savvy, talented, well educated, sensitive, philanthropic, generous of heart and spirit, and all around good guys.  If they were easy on the eyes, all the better.

Our choice for Sexiest Man Alive for 2009 is:

Eric Ripert

 A loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and . . .Eric Ripert.  Life is good.

There's a lot of taste and tastiness in the silver haired Frenchman who began his career as a chef at the age of seventeen in the famous dining halls of Paris, and by the age of twenty-nine had taken the helm at Le Bernardin in New York City after the unexpected death of executive chef Gilbert Le Coze and earned for the restaurant a coveted four star rating from The New York Times.  He maintained that four star status along with picking up a coveted three stars from Michelin as he expanded his restaurant base to other cities in the U.S. and the Caribbean.  In 2003 he accepted the James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef of the Year.

His generosity extends beyond the kitchen, as he chairs New York City's Harvest Food Council, the world's first food rescue program, bringing people in the restaurant industry together in a mission to end hunger.  A frequent guest and judge on television cooking shows, Ripert now has his own series, Avec Eric, on PBS.

Eric Ripert, executive chef of Le Bernardin (photo, Le Bernardin) 

From the streets of Antibes and his grandmother's kitchen, through the fields of Andorra and the lights of Paris, to the heart of New York City and the television sets of millions, the palate pleasing Ripert has found his way through the world, bringing his singular sense of style and his gentle but powerful voice.

Smart, sophisticated, charismatic, charming, unruffled, unassuming, we'd easily give him four stars in the easy on the eyes department alone.  But he's a complex, competent and modest chef who demonstrated from an early age an ability and passion for the industry and for helping others.

That's four star sexiness in our book.  We'll bring the picnic blanket.  And the truffles.

The runners-up: 

Anderson Cooper

Max Headroom meets Paul Newman.  The heir apparent to those baby blues,  a savvy news anchor with a storied heritage, completely ultrachic, CNN's Anderson Cooper is one of the reasons we still tune into cable news.

Harry Connick, Jr.

Sprung from the musical loins of New Orleans and always less than a heartbeat away from her greatest needs, singer, songwriter and actor Harry Connick, Jr. makes us miss Frank a little less.  It's hard to fault someone who performed with the New Orleans Symphony before the age of ten, then went on to great fame on stage and screen.  

Liam Neeson 

We've always loved the bookish Gaelic sensitivity of Liam Neeson, but never more so than in March of this year when he showed us all, with incredible grace and dignity, how to grieve.

Dr. Sean Bush

We hate snakes, but it would almost be worth it to be bitten by one to be cared for by Dr. Sean Bush, one of the world's leading experts on snakes and snakebites, and professor of emergency medicine at Loma Linda University School of Medicine.  Venomology isn't our thing, but thankfully for many people, it's his.  He's smart, capable, appropriate, and deadly sexy.

Prince William

The once and future king, and Diana's son, personable, sophisticated, and willing to do what it takes for the British Empire, his mother gave Prince William a joy for life that is unmistakable and electrifying.

Barack Obama 

It's hard not to be sexy when you're the leader of the free world and a great father, but we have to admit the man cuts a fine figure in a suit and has a voice like butter.  This one, of course, is a gimme.

Anthony Hopkins

So maybe Hannibal Lechter wasn't the sexiest of all men on celluloid, but Welsh actor Sir Anthony Hopkins has dazzled since the days of being Olivier's understudy.   Less well known are his accomplishments as a pianist, songwriter and screenwriter.  We'd love to know what's inside that sexy brain of his. . .preferably without the nice Chianti and some fava beans.

David Duchovny 

He had us at Master of Arts in Literature.   Everything else after that, X-Files or X-rated, from the Jewish Lutheran actor David Duchovny, is purely gravy.  

Steve Martin 

Who can resist a former philosopher turned perennial funnyman who can also play a mean banjo?  Not us.  Steve Martin is smart, sophisticated, and always makes us laugh, even at his own expense, which can be enormously sexy.

Gilles Marini

He might have been typecast forever as the to-die-for neighbor in Sex and the City, but we subsequently learned that Gilles Marini is a dedicated dad with a tender heart and a reach for that greater something.  This man would be sexy even if we were blind, which fortunately, we are not. 

For Salon staff's Sexiest Man Living 2009 choices, see:  Salon - Sexiest Man Living 2009

For more on Making Mr. Right, see:   Open Salon - Making Mr. Right