Jacques Pépin

Before all the cookbooks and television cooking shows, before all the teaching seminars and cooking demonstrations, before Jacques Pépin became the Jacques Pépin, he spent 10 years learning how Americans eat.

Looking back, Pépin, the newest member of the MenuMasters Hall of Fame, says his years as director of research and development for the Howard Johnson Co. were crucial to his understanding of mass production, marketing strategies, food chemistry and American food tastes.

"Howard Johnson's was my American apprenticeship, and it still serves me well," he says of the years between 1960 and 1970, which he spent there. "It was the foundation for what I went on to do."

For example, after leaving the corporate world, Pépin and four partners opened a restaurant called La Potajerie on Fifth Avenue in New York City. "I could never have opened that restaurant if it hadn't been for Howard Johnson's, where I learned to work something into production for, say, 150 gallons of soup," he says.

While Howard Johnson's provided Pépin with R&D schooling, his love of food came much earlier and quite naturally. Born in 1935 in Bourg-en-Bresse, France, Pépin was first exposed to cooking in his parents' restaurant, Le Pelican. At 13 he began his formal apprenticeship at the Grand Hotel de L'Europe in his hometown.

Later he worked in Paris, training under Lucien Diat at the Plaza Athenée. From 1956 to 1958 he was the personal chef of three French heads of state, including Charles de Gaulle. Ironically, he had a chance to replicate that experience in 1960 when he was offered the position of White House chef. "I had done that in France, and the job had absolutely no chance for promotion," he recalls. "I had no intention of staying, but I loved it."

Arriving in New York City, Pépin was introduced to Pierre Franey, the chef at the Le Pavillon restaurant. Two days later he began work there.

"That was September 1959, and in the spring of 1960 there was a big fight with the owner and the chef. We all left, and the restaurant closed," he recalls. "It was big news in The New York Times."

When Franey was asked to join Howard Johnson's, he took Pépin with him. While there, Pépin attended Columbia University, ultimately earning a master's degree in 18th-century French literature. In 1997, on the 50th anniversary of the Columbia School of General Studies, Pépin and four other alumni were honored, each representing a different decade in the school's history.

After Howard Johnson's, Pépin opened La Potajerie. In 1975 he left to join Joe Baum in helping set up the food operation at The World Trade Center. "Again, I would never have been able to do that if it hadn't been for Howard Johnson's," he says.

Pépin's writing career began in the 1970's with two books on French culinary techniques, "La Technique," in 1975, and "La Methode," in 1976. Those works plus 17 other cookbooks earned him a place in the James Beard Foundation's Cookbook Hall of Fame. Pépin's most recent release, "Sweet Simplicity: Jacques Pépin's Fruit Desserts," was published in May 1999.

A former columnist for The New York Times, Pépin now writes a quarterly column for Food & Wine magazine. He also has a line of copper cookware and kitchen textiles featuring his designs.

Pépin's newest venture is a 22-show public-television series with Julia Child, "Julia and Jacque Cooking at Home," which has been nominated for a 2000 Emmy Award by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Another recent PBS-TV Series is "Jacques Pépin's Kitchen: Encore with Claudine." This is the second series he has produced with his daughter, Claudine Pépin, with whom he also collaborated on a cookbook, "Jacque Pépin's Kitchen Cooking with Claudine."

Looking back on a high-profile career, Pépin says," What I like best is the diversity. If I had to do television 24 hours a day, I'd be out of my mind. It's the same with academia. If I were teaching day in and day out, all year, I would also be crazy."

He feels the same about The New York Times, where he churned out columns for seven years. "It got to be too much pressure and hassle with the deadlines," he recalls.

A little here and a little there keeps the master chef happy and on the go. "But it's always food, and I love that type of diversity," he adds. "I like to teach, be a food educator. That's what I've been doing mostly whether it's in person or through books or television."

Pépin is an adjunct faculty member at Boston University, where he lectures frequently. He is a founder of the American Institute of Wine and Food and is on the board of trustees of The James Beard Foundation.

At The French Culinary Institute in New York City, Pépin is dean of special programs and a frequent lecturer and cooking demonstrator. Alain Sailhac, the institute's executive vice president and senior dean of study, has become an admirer and jovial kindred spirit.

With a great laugh, Sailhac says tongue-in-cheek: "Oh, I think he's a lousy guy. I don't like him at all."

In a more serious vein, he adds: "Everyone loves Jacques. First, he's a very charming person. Second, the man knows his business. He can talk, and he can do it. He has a deep knowledge for cooking any kind of food and also for the history of cooking."

Sailhac, himself a chef for almost 50 years, including nine years at Le Cirque restaurant in New York City, sees Pépin as something of a Renaissance man. "He is very attracted by everything," Sailhac ways. "He can do a million things. He is very curious and full of humor. He likes to laugh and loves life."

Dorothy Hamilton, founder and chief executive of the institute, has her own take on Pépin: "He's a great chef, but he's really the zen master of cooking technique. Other chefs sit back and watch him in action."

Walking in New York City with Pépin is like walking with Elvis, she says. "Everyone comes up to him; everyone loves him. Plus, he really is a Renaissance man. He paints and does extraordinary carpentry work."

Another admirer is chef Martin Yan, an expert in Asian cuisine who, like Pépin, has gained a following through televised cooking shows. "Jacques has an uncanny ability to motivate his students and other professionals," Yan says. "His passion for his craft has encouraged hundreds, if not thousands, of budding chefs to embrace a career in culinary arts."

Pépin's enthusiasm, professionalism and warmth have had a strong impact on Yan's career. "He's one of my dearest friends," Yan says. "Now, if only his expertise were as contagious as his spirit."

That fun-loving spirit is what attracted the former Gloria Augier to him when they crossed paths in 1965 on the ski slopes of Hunter Mountain in the Catskills region of New York State.

"I'd go up there to ski on weekends to escape the city," Augier recalls. She was a part-time member of the ski patrol, and Jacques was a part-time instructor. To meet him, she arranged for private lessons even though she was an accomplished skier. They clicked and have been together ever since, making their home today in Madison, Conn.

Pépin's daughter, Claudine, lives in New Jersey and represents wineries for restaurants in New York City. Her father taught her how to cook. "It made sense since he also taught me how to walk, talk and ski," she says. She loves to cook, but not professionally. "Chefs work insane hours."

Her father continues to cook every chance he gets in his kitchen in Madison. In a recent change of pace, he signed on to develop menus for United Airlines. "We tested 160 dishes," he observes. "It was very challenging to create dishes that then must be prepared by different caterers in different parts of the country."

Pépin's focus on simplicity in cooking served him well with United Airlines.

"The best food is the most straightforward food," Pépin explains. "If you have a good piece of chicken and some mushrooms, it's all you need if it's done properly, especially in situations where you have to feed a lot of people.

"To a lesser extent today, I still think in terms of preparing food in a very organized manner - whether it can be packed properly, whether you can preheat, things like that," he says, thinking back on his days at Howard Johnson's.

After so many years in this country, Pépin says, "I don't try to be French when I cook, and I don't try not to. I just think in terms of what I like to eat."