Jacques Pépin sits on a stool in the kitchen of his Madison home with a pegboard wall of cooper pots as a golden backdrop and his black miniature poodle, Gaston, at the alert by his side.
Pépin shows an advance copy of his latest book — his 35th — “The Art of Jacques Pépin: A Life in Recipes and Paintings (Timeless Recipes and Signature Artworks of the Celebrated Chef),”which was published last September. But he is also eager to talk about his foundation and the special events surrounding his milestone birthday.
On Dec. 18, the iconic chef, author, artist, educator, television personality and beloved culinary master turns 90. At the Madison Beach Hotel, not far from Pepin’s home where he has lived for nearly 50 years, a grand dinner will mark the end of a year-long “90/90: 90 Chefs and 90 Dinners” celebration.
The year of feasts in collaboration with chefs and restaurants across the nation was devised by his daughter, Claudine, to help support the Jacques Pépin Foundation, the organization she created with her husband, chef and educator Rollie Wesen. Proceeds from the ticketed events will directly support community kitchen programs and educational videos. It has so far raised nearly $1 million.
Pépin’s 75 year-long career — he began his professional life at the age of 13 — is being honored with events large and small, from swank dinners, to wine tastings to intimate at-home affairs by many of his fans.
“When Claudine proposed it I thought it was crazy,” he said. “But no chef we asked to participate said no.”
The events have been held at such legendary American restaurants as The French Laundry and Daniel and in late October an eight-day series of dinners will be held in Napa Valley, California.
Who could say no? Pépin has been at the forefront of the culinary world since the late ‘50s, from working in the presidential kitchen of French Premier Charles de Gaulle to his arrival in the U.S. at New York’s Le Pavillon. Over his career this dean of chefs has won 16 James Beard awards.
Pépin is also one of the most relatable culinary leaders, with his Gallic charm, easy-going demeanor and common sense approach to cooking. But he also promotes the importance of culinary technique. A 50th anniversary combined-edition of his two classic books of technique will be published in the spring.
And he understands the practicalities of the home kitchen, too, much like his friend, Julia Child, with whom he partnered with for a popular cooking book, “Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home,” and its popular television series.
His background includes some of the most famous restaurants in Paris and New York and in Paul Freedman’s book “The Ten Restaurants That Changed America,” Pépin was a leading figure in two of them. He was a chef at New York City’s Le Pavillon, the leading high-end mid-century restaurant, and he helped elevate the food at Howard Johnson’s in the ‘60s for a decade. (Pépin was wooed to be chef at president John F. Kennedy’s White House but instead decided to help Howard Johnson’s.) It wasn’t until the ‘80s that he began his television shows.
“I am very often considered the quintessential ‘French chef,’” he says with an unmistakable French lilt. “My accent is very Yankee,” he jokes.
“But then you open my books and there’s a recipe for black bean soup with banana and cilantro on top or Southern fried chicken or clam chowder. In my opinion after all this time I’m the quintessential American chef.”
He and his wife Gloria, who died in 2020, moved to Madison in the mid-‘70s, converting a former sand brick factory into their spacious home. A second building in the back yard is used as a studio kitchen where he filmed his cooking programs. At the urging of Claudine, — who appeared on his shows when she was a young girl — Pépin’s started to create video how-to cooking shorts on Facebook. When it began he had 200,000 followers on Facebook. Now he has nearly 2 million.
The video clips focus on one ingredient, dish or technique, often using just pantry staples — including leftovers and even canned goods, which for many were the only ingredients available sometimes during the pandemic. “I’m not that much of a snob,” he shrugged. “I use whatever is there.”
Pépin’s new book combines his favorite recipes with his colorful and charming paintings. “Both satisfies me in many ways,” he said. “I get lost in painting like I get lost in cooking. Both are important things in my life.”
Pépin started designing whimsical menus of his favorite meals in 1960 and hasn’t stopped. He has 12 bound volumes of his menus in his study. “I can show you what I had the day before yesterday. These books of menus are my whole life. Claudine came to visit a few weeks ago and asked, ‘Do you know what I ate for my fourth birthday?’ I said, ‘Lets look,’ and I pulled out a volume there it was. She even drew a picture of a chicken on the menu.”
Pépin noted his appetite has changed as he’s aged. “It has to do with your metabolism and I don’t try to fight it. I know I feel different. My taste buds have changed and I don’t like to eat that much and to a certain extent I don’t like to embellish food that much.”
He said he is happy to just have a ripe tomato out of his garden with oil salt and pepper. “And you can’t beat fantastic bread and butter and cheese. I don’t need anything more.”
Rapid-fire questions with Jacques Pépin
What’s an appliance that most changed cooking for you over the decades?
Certainly the microwave oven and as I get older I use it more and more. Of course, the food processor. In France I would be pounding in a mortar to get a paste but with a food processor, oh my God.
Best use of Connecticut’s slogan spice – nutmeg?
Hmmm. I use it in a few things; I may use it in canelés and perhaps sautéed spinach.
What are eight ingredients you couldn’t live without?
Bread, butter, eggs, chicken, fish, tomato, onion and garlic.
What dish would you prepare for God?
Though I was an altar boy when I was young, I am now an atheist, thank God. But probably an omelette with lots of butter. For my wife I made a perfect two-egg omelette with a layer of pressed caviar. Or Eggs Jeannette, a dish my mother made.
Dining and Cooking