His thick French accent notwithstanding, Jacques Pépin, now 87, is one of the U.S.’s most legendary chefs, celebrated for translating the culinary techniques of his home country for the everyday American cook. Pépin, the son of a Lyon restaurateur, left home at 13 to work as a kitchen apprentice, moved to New York in 1959, and quickly befriended both James Beard and Julia Child. In the decades since, he has published more than 30 cookbooks and hosted a series of long-running cooking shows on PBS; more recently, his pandemic cooking videos went viral.
His latest book, Jacques Pépin: Art of the Chicken, combines memoir with recipes and his own whimsical paintings of chickens. “Chicken and egg cooking, chicken stories, chicken lore, and chicken painting,” he writes in the book’s introduction, “are all aspects of who I am.” He is also at work on Jacques Pépin: Cooking My Way, a book about cooking on a budget, which will publish in the fall. Herewith, he shares his key components to the good life. —Julia Vitale
AIRPORT: Small.
APPETIZER: Caviar.
BEDTIME: Late.
BIKE: With a motor.
BREAKFAST, WEEKDAY: Coffee.
BREAKFAST, WEEKEND: Coffee.
CAR: Electric.
COCKTAIL: Reverse Manhattan.
COCKTAIL APPETIZER: More caviar.
DIET: No such thing.
DINNER, WEEKDAY: Shared with someone.
DINNER, WEEKEND: More friends.
DRIVE: In the country.
ESCAPE: Television.
FAMILY: Loving.
FIRST LADY: My lady.
FIT: Comfortable.
FRIEND: Loyal.
GOOD-BYE: Long.
HIDEAWAY: My garden.
INDULGENCE: Wine.
INSULT: Not a fan.
LAST MEAL: Again, long.
MATCH: Tennis.
MOVIE: The Godfather.
PEN OR PENCIL: Pencil, sharp, with an eraser.
PET: Gaston.
PODCAST: What’s that?
PRESIDENT: Obama.
SAYING: “Be happy.”
SINGER: Nat King Cole.
STORM: A perfect one.
TELEVISION SERIES: All in the Family.
THEME SONG TO YOUR LIFE: “Au Clair de la Lune.”
TOAST: “Santé.”
VIEW: The sea.
WAKE-UP TIME: The crack of 10.
Jacques’s Essentials
