Jacques Pepin

Long before cable reality programs brought chefs into American homes, Jacques Pepin was already there, starring in his own multiple cooking series on public television.

Pepin's father was a cabinetmaker and his mother ran a restaurant. When his family sent him out as a restaurant apprentice, their goal was both to feed him and to teach him a trade. He discovered a passion for the work and his talent soon propelled him from the provinces, to the kitchens of French presidents, to one of New York's best restaurants. When a serious automobile accident made long hours in a restaurant impossible, he turned to teaching and then television.

Along the way he became a husband and father, an American citizen, a bestselling writer, and one of the guiding spirits of both the prestigious French Culinary Institute in Manhattan and the culinary program at Boston University.

Included among his more than 20 books are arguably two of the most influential on cooking techniques ever written in this country, La Technique and La Methode. His eleven television series, with more on the way, have reflected both his years in America and a wide range of culinary possibilities, from cooking for celebrations to cooking with Julia Child.

People:
Beard, James, 1903-1985
Claiborne, Craig
Child, Julia
Curnonsky, 1872-1956
Gaulle, Charles de, 1890-1970
Gaulle, Yvonne de, 1900-1979
Franey, Pierre
McCully, Helen
Pépin, Jacques

Organizations:
Boston University
French Culinary Institute (New York, N.Y.)
Howard Johnson Co.
New York Times
Pavillon (Restaurant : New York, N.Y.)
Plaza Athénée
Société Des Cuisiniers

Subjects:
Authorship
Cookbooks
Cooking, American -- History -- 20th century
Cooking, French
Cooking -- Periodicals
Cooking -- Study and teaching
Dinners and dining
Food writing
Gastronomy
Publishers and publishing
Restaurants -- France -- Paris
Restaurants -- New York (State) -- New York
Television cooking shows