Jacques Pépin
 |
Jacques Pépin | |
|---|---|
 Jacques Pépin at the Aspen Food and Wine Classic 2006 | |
| Education | Columbia University School of General Studies |
| Culinary career | |
| Cooking style | French |
Previous restaurant(s) | |
Television show(s)
| |
Award(s) won | |
| Website | http://www.jacquespepin.net |
Jacques Pépin (born December 18 1935) is a French chef, television personality, and author working in the United States.
Early life and career
Pépin was born in Bourg-en-Bresse near Lyon, and began cooking in his parents' restaurant, Le Pelican, at the age of 12. He went on to work in Paris, training under Lucien Diat at the Plaza Athénée. He eventually served as a personal chef for Charles de Gaulle and two other French premiers. Upon immigration to the United States in 1959, Pépin turned down a job offer at the Kennedy White House, and instead accepted a position as the director of research and new development for the Howard Johnson's chain of hotels. He stayed at Howard Johnson's for ten years.
Demonstrating interests beyond cooking, Pépin earned a bachelor's degree from the Columbia University School of General Studies in 1970, followed by a Master of Arts in 18th Century French poetry from Columbia in 1972.
Television star and author
Pépin has been featured in several highly acclaimed television shows and written eighteen books.
His celebrated La Technique is used to this day as a textbook for teaching the fundamentals of French cuisine. The success of La Technique prompted him to launch a televised version of the book, resulting in an acclaimed 1997 PBS series, The Complete Pépin. Recently relaunched on PBS ten years after its initial run, the series included a new introduction by Pépin where he stressed that now more than ever the secret to being a successful chef and not a mere line cook lies in knowing and using the proper technique.
Pépin also co-starred in award-winning 1999 PBS series Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home with Julia Child. Their work together was honored with a Daytime Emmy in 2001.
A third series had Pépin cooking with his daughter, Claudine, wife of chef Rolland Wesen.
His show Jacques Pépin: Fast Food My Way (based on his 2004 book of the same name) ran on PBS, and Jacques Pépin: More Fast Food My Way is currently being broadcast on PBS' Create Channel. All of his programs have been produced by KQED-TV in San Francisco.
A time line of his life, based on his 2003 autobiography The Apprentice, is available on the KQED website.
Pépin was a guest judge on the Bravo television show Top Chef on season five, airing in 2008. He stated that his ideal "final meal" would be roast squab and fresh peas.
Pépin today
Pépin serves as Dean of Special Programs at the French Culinary Institute, part of the new International Culinary Center, in New York City. He is also an active contributor to the Gastronomy department at Boston University, where he teaches an online class on the cuisine and culture of France along with professor Kyri Claflin of Boston University's history department. Pépin also writes a quarterly column for Food & Wine and offers an amateur class each semester based on varied culinary topics.
Pépin currently resides with his wife, Gloria, in Madison, Connecticut.
Awards and honors
In addition to the Daytime Emmy Award won with Julia Child, Pépin has received two of the French government's highest honors: he is a Chevalier de L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (1997) and a Chevalier de L'Ordre du Mérite Agricole (1992). In October 2004, he received France's ultimate civilian recognition, the Légion d'honneur.
Selected bibliography
- Chez Jacques: Traditions and Rituals of a Cook (w/Tom Hopkins, 2007)
- Fast Food My Way (2004)
- The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen (2003)
- Jacques Pépin Celebrates (2001)
- Julia and Jacques: Cooking at Home (1999) (with Julia Child and David Nussbaum)
- Jacques Pépin's Kitchen: Encore with Claudine (1998)
- The French Culinary Institute's Salute to Healthy Cooking (1998) (with Alain Sailhac, Andre Soltner, and Jacques Torres)
- The Complete Pépin (1997; relaunched in 2007)
- Jacques Pépin's Kitchen: Cooking with Claudine (1996)
- Jacques Pépin's Table (1995)
- Cuisine Economique (1992)
- Today's Gourmet II (1992)
- Today's Gourmet (1991)
- Short-Cut Cook (1990)
- The Art of Cooking, Vol 2 (1988)
- The Art of Cooking, Vol 1 (1987)
- Everyday Cooking With Jacques Pepin (1982)
- La Methode (1979)
- La Technique (1976)
- Jacques Pépin: A French Chef Cooks at Home (1975)
External links
- Official website
- French Culinary Institute
- Jacques Pépin Celebrates
- KQED: Jacques Pépin: Fast Food My Way
- Boston University Gastronomy
- Jacques Pepin at the Internet Movie Database