CHEF PEPIN DISHES ON LIFE
Subject of PBS documentary
Jacques Pepin took the stage at Boston University for a pre-screening of “American Masters — Jacques Pepin: The Art of Craft,” a
PBS documentary about his life. And though we may generally associate the chef with his “Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home” — co-hosted by his personal friend Julia Child — there is more to Pepin's story. “I'm a bit of an existentialist,” he said after viewing the hourlong special that will air May 26. “I always think of the present. That sets you up in stone there.”
“I was amazed,” he continued. “A lot of the footage, I have no idea where you found it. … Some of the stuff, the pictures, I have never seen them in my life.”
The film — which is peppered with appearances from our favorite celebrity chefs such as Anthony Bourdain,
Daniel Boulud and Danny Meyer — shows how Pepin's persona came to be, starting with his childhood outside Lyon amidst World War II.
“You grew up with blinders,” Pepin said of his career choice. “Either I did what my father or what my mother did, so I went in that (latter) direction. I never thought I could be a lawyer or a doctor. It was so far away from what my family was.”
It was when Pepin was literally far from his family, working at New York's prestigious Le Pavillon, that his life started to change.
“At the time, the cook was very low on the social scale,” he said. “The cook was always in the kitchen. … If anyone came to the kitchen, it was to complain.”
During that time, then-President John F. Kennedy and first lady Jacqueline asked Pepin to be their White House chef. But he turned them down.
“In the context of the time, I didn't realize the potential,” he said of the first family's offer. Instead, Pepin made the unlikely choice to take a research position at Howard Johnson's test kitchen, which, he said, paved the way for his own restaurant,
La Potagerie, and consulting work at places like the Russian Tea Room.
Through his books and television shows, you can see that much of Pepin's cooking philosophy centers on technique. However, he has learned that technique isn't the be-all, end-all of being an accomplished cook.
“Not having professional training doesn't take away from their cooking,” Pepin said.
“I know many technicians who were professionally trained,” he added. “But they were lousy cooks.”
AT THE TIME, THE COOK WAS VERY LOW ON THE SOCIAL SCALE. THE COOK WAS ALWAYS IN THE KITCHEN. IF ANYONE CAME TO THE KITCHEN, IT WAS TO COMPLAIN.”