Jacques Pépin
Encyclopedia
Jacques Pépin is an internationally recognized French chef
, television personality, and author working in the United States. Born in Bourg-en-Bresse
, Lyon
in France
, Pepin was raised by a father and mother who jointly owned a restaurant, where he later credited the start of his love for food. He later studied in France and came to the U.S. to work at a French restaurant while learning English at night school. Between the 1950s and 1970s, he worked in restaurants, earned degrees from French schools and an M.A. from Columbia University
, and cooked for numerous people, including French President Charles de Gaulle
. At the end of the 1980s and the start of the 1990s, he appeared on French and American T.V. and wrote an array of cookbooks that became immediate best sellers.
In "Essential Pepin" (2011), Jacques brings modern touches to some of the favorite recipes from his six-decade career. For the 26-part public television series, produced by KQED/San Francisco, Jacques demonstrates more than 125 dishes while the companion book, published by Houghton-Mifflin, contains more than 700 recipes. His 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 season five of the Bravo television show Top Chef
, which aired in 2008. He stated that his ideal "final meal" would be roast squab
and fresh peas.
According to his autobiography, Mr. Pépin came to New York City as a young man to work as a chef in a French restaurant owned by a friend. However, his friend changed the plan and placed him in a job at the renowned "Le Pavillon." While living in New York, Mr. Pépin made the decision to attend Columbia University to learn English and ultimately, to continue the education that he had ceased at age 13 when he became an apprentice chef.
, part of the 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
. They have been dinner guests at the home of restaurateur Priscilla Martel
and Charlie van Over, who live in Connecticut as well.
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
.
On May 13, 2010, Pépin, along with other chefs from The French Culinary Institute, Alain Sailhac
, Jacques Torres
and André Soltner
, prepared a $30,000-per-couple dinner for President Barack Obama
’s fund-raiser for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
at Manhattan’s St. Regis Hotel.
On February 5, 2010, during the christening of Oceania Marina, Pépin was named an honorary commodore of the Oceania Cruises
fleet, for which he serves as Executive Culinary Director.
He received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Boston University on May 22, 2011. In October 2011, Jacques was the recipient of the first-ever tribute dinner at the New York Food and Wine Festival. Cooking for Jacques at the event, hosted by Martha Stewart, were some of America's best-known French chefs, including Alain Ducasse, Daniel Boulud, and others.
Chef
A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ...
, television personality, and author working in the United States. Born in Bourg-en-Bresse
Bourg-en-Bresse
Bourg-en-Bresse is a commune in eastern France, capital of the Ain department, and was capital of the former province of Bresse . It is located north-northeast of Lyon.The inhabitants of Bourg-en-Bresse are known as Burgiens.-Geography:...
, Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Pepin was raised by a father and mother who jointly owned a restaurant, where he later credited the start of his love for food. He later studied in France and came to the U.S. to work at a French restaurant while learning English at night school. Between the 1950s and 1970s, he worked in restaurants, earned degrees from French schools and an M.A. from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, and cooked for numerous people, including French President Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
. At the end of the 1980s and the start of the 1990s, he appeared on French and American T.V. and wrote an array of cookbooks that became immediate best sellers.
Television star and author
Pépin has been featured in thirteen highly acclaimed television shows and has written more than twenty books.In "Essential Pepin" (2011), Jacques brings modern touches to some of the favorite recipes from his six-decade career. For the 26-part public television series, produced by KQED/San Francisco, Jacques demonstrates more than 125 dishes while the companion book, published by Houghton-Mifflin, contains more than 700 recipes. His 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
Julia Child
Julia Child was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for introducing French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and her subsequent television programs, the most notable of which was The French Chef, which...
. Their work together was honored with a Daytime Emmy
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming...
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
Create (TV channel)
Create is a digital television public television network in the United States. The network was created after the closure of PBS YOU in 2006. Create is a public television network, and runs mainly how-to, DIY, and other non-commercial educational television shows from the libraries of Public...
. 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 season five of the Bravo television show Top Chef
Top Chef
Top Chef is an American reality competition show that airs on the cable television network Bravo, in which chefs compete against each other in culinary challenges. They are judged by a panel of professional chefs and other notables from the food and wine industry with one or more contestants...
, which aired in 2008. He stated that his ideal "final meal" would be roast squab
Squab (food)
In culinary terminology, squab is a young domestic pigeon or its meat. The meat is widely described as tasting like dark chicken. The term is probably of Scandinavian origin; the Swedish word skvabb means "loose, fat flesh". It formerly applied to all dove and pigeon species, such as the Wood...
and fresh peas.
According to his autobiography, Mr. Pépin came to New York City as a young man to work as a chef in a French restaurant owned by a friend. However, his friend changed the plan and placed him in a job at the renowned "Le Pavillon." While living in New York, Mr. Pépin made the decision to attend Columbia University to learn English and ultimately, to continue the education that he had ceased at age 13 when he became an apprentice chef.
Pépin today
Pépin serves as Dean of Special Programs at the French Culinary InstituteFrench Culinary Institute
The French Culinary Institute , also known as The International Culinary Center has locations in SoHo, New York City and in the San Francisco Bay Area of California....
, part of the International Culinary Center
International Culinary Center
The International Culinary Center, with locations in SoHo, New York City and in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, is home to The French Culinary Institute, The International Culinary Center School of Italian Studies, formerly The Italian Culinary Academy, FCI Catering and Events, and...
, in New York City. He is also an active contributor to the Gastronomy
Gastronomy
Gastronomy is the art or science of food eating. Also, it can be defined as the study of food and culture, with a particular focus on gourmet cuisine...
department at Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, where he teaches an online class on the cuisine
Cuisine
Cuisine is a characteristic style of cooking practices and traditions, often associated with a specific culture. Cuisines are often named after the geographic areas or regions that they originate from...
and culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
of France along with professor Kyri Claflin of Boston University's history department. Pépin also writes a quarterly column for Food & Wine
Food & Wine
Food & Wine is a monthly magazine published by American Express Publishing. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and seasonal/holiday content and has been credited by The New York...
and offers an amateur class each semester based on varied culinary topics.
Pépin currently resides with his wife, Gloria, in Madison, Connecticut
Madison, Connecticut
Madison is a town in the southeastern corner of New Haven County, Connecticut, occupying a central location on Connecticut's Long Island Sound shoreline. The population was 18,812 at the 2000 census....
. They have been dinner guests at the home of restaurateur Priscilla Martel
Priscilla Martel
Priscilla Martel is an award–winning American chef, food writer, and consultant notable for desserts, baking, pastries and fireplace-cooked meals. Her recipes appear in magazines such as Food & Wine. She is a contributing writer at Flavor and the Menu Magazine. She teaches and has written...
and Charlie van Over, who live in Connecticut as well.
Awards and honors
In addition to the Daytime Emmy AwardDaytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming...
won with Julia Child
Julia Child
Julia Child was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for introducing French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and her subsequent television programs, the most notable of which was The French Chef, which...
, Pépin has received two of the French government's highest honors: He is a Chevalier de L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
The Ordre des Arts et des Lettres is an Order of France, established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture, and confirmed as part of the Ordre national du Mérite by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963...
(1997) and a Chevalier de L'Ordre du Mérite Agricole
Mérite agricole
The Ordre National du Mérite Agricole is an order of merit established in France on 7 July 1883 by Minister of Agriculture Jules Méline to reward services to agriculture...
(1992). In October 2004, he received France's ultimate civilian recognition, the Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
.
On May 13, 2010, Pépin, along with other chefs from The French Culinary Institute, Alain Sailhac
Alain Sailhac
Alain Sailhac, born in Millau, France is an internationally recognized French chef working in New York City where he holds the position of Executive Vice President and Dean Emeritus at The French Culinary Institute. Sailhac earned the first ever four star rating from The New York Times while at Le...
, Jacques Torres
Jacques Torres
Jacques Torres, known as “Mr. Chocolate,” is a master pastry chef. Torres is a prominent member of the FCI community, leading the Pastry Arts as well as holding pastry demonstrations.- Biography :...
and André Soltner
André Soltner
André Soltner is an internationally recognized French chef and author working in the United States.- Background :...
, prepared a $30,000-per-couple dinner for President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
’s fund-raiser for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is the Democratic Hill committee for the United States House of Representatives, working to elect Democrats to that body. They play a critical role in recruiting candidates, raising funds, and organizing races in districts that are expected to yield...
at Manhattan’s St. Regis Hotel.
On February 5, 2010, during the christening of Oceania Marina, Pépin was named an honorary commodore of the Oceania Cruises
Oceania Cruises
Oceania Cruises is a Miami, Florida, United States-based shipping company that operates four luxury cruise ships on world-wide itenaries. It is currently the world’s largest upscale cruise line, offering good-quality food and itineraries at a cheap price when compared to other upscale cruise lines...
fleet, for which he serves as Executive Culinary Director.
He received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Boston University on May 22, 2011. In October 2011, Jacques was the recipient of the first-ever tribute dinner at the New York Food and Wine Festival. Cooking for Jacques at the event, hosted by Martha Stewart, were some of America's best-known French chefs, including Alain Ducasse, Daniel Boulud, and others.
Selected bibliography
- Jacques Pépin: A French Chef Cooks at Home (1975)
- La Technique (1976)
- La Methode (1979)
- Everyday Cooking With Jacques Pepin (1982)
- The Art of Cooking, Vol 1 (1987)
- The Art of Cooking, Vol 2 (1988)
- Short-Cut Cook (1990)
- Today's Gourmet (1991)
- Cuisine Economique (1992)
- Today's Gourmet II (1992)
- Jacques Pépin's Table (1995)
- Jacques Pépin's Kitchen: Cooking with Claudine (1996)
- The Complete Pépin (1997; relaunched in 2007)
- The French Culinary Institute's Salute to Healthy Cooking (1998) (with Alain Sailhac, Andre Soltner, and Jacques Torres)
- Jacques Pépin's Kitchen: Encore with Claudine (1998)
- Julia and Jacques: Cooking at Home (1999) (with Julia Child and David Nussbaum)
- Jacques Pépin Celebrates (2001)
- The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen (2003)
- Fast Food My Way (2004)
- Chez Jacques: Traditions and Rituals of a Cook (w/Tom Hopkins, 2007)
- More Fast Food My Way (2008)
- "Essential Pepin" (2011)