Timeline

  • 1935

    Jacques is born, Bourg-en-Bresse, France.

  • 1949

    Jacques begins his formal culinary apprenticeship.

  • 1956-1958

    During his military service, Jacques serves as personal chef to three French heads of state.

  • 1959

    Jacques comes to the United States to work at the restaurant Le Pavillon.

    Meets Craig Claiborne, Julia Child and James Beard.

  • 1961

    Howard Johnson hires Jacques to work alongside Pierre Franey to develop food lines for his chain of Howard Johnson's restaurants.

  • 1967

    Jacques authors his first cookbook, “The other half of the Egg” with Helen McCully.

  • 1970

    Jacques opened a specialty soup restaurant and lunch counter on Manhattan's 5th Avenue called La Potagerie.

  • 1974

    Near fatal car accident near his home in upstate New York.

  • 1975

    Jacques publishes, “A French Chef Cooks at Home.”

  • 1976

    Jacques publishes, “La Technique” followed by “La Methode”

  • 1982

    Jacques starred in “Every Day Cooking,” his first TV series.

  • 1982

    Invited to be a Dean at the newly formed French Culinary Institute in New York City.

  • 1989

    Created with Julia Child, a Culinary Certificate program at Metropolitan college, at Boston University.

  • 1991

    Filmed Television series Today's Gourmet at KQED studios in San Francisco.

  • 1996

    Filmed first of three series with daughter, Claudine – “Cooking with Claudine”.

  • 1997

    Jacques launches PBS series, “Jacques Pépin's Culinary Techniques”.

  • 2001

    Jacques and Julia Child receive a Daytime Emmy for “Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home”.

  • 2003

    Jacques takes on Culinary Director at Oceania Cruises.

  • 2005

    Jacques wins his 14th James Beard Foundation award for his lifetime of achievement.

  • 2011

    “Essential Pépin” cookbook and companion video series filmed at KQED.

  • 2015

    Jacques filmed “Heart and Soul in the Kitchen,” his 13th TV series with KQED.

  • 2015

    Jacques was the first recipient of the Julia Child Award from The Julia Child Foundation.

  • 2016

    Alongside his daughter, Claudine, and son-in-law, Rollie Wesen, Jacques launches the Jacques Pépin Foundation.

  • 2017

    “The Art of the Craft” biographical documentary film on the life and career of Jacques released as part of the American Masters series.

  • 2019

    Jacques Honored with a Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award

  • 2020

    Jacques publishes “Quick & Simple” and begins shooting short, individual recipe videos during the COVID 19 pandemic. The series is produced by the Jacques Pépin Foundation, and entitled “Jacques Pépin Cooking at Home”

  • 2021

    Jacques and son-in-law Rollie Wesen create an on-line cooking course, “A Legacy of Technique”, with Rouxbe.com

  • 2022

    Jacques published “Art of the Chicken”, a book featuring his artwork, stories from his life and recipes offered in narrative. It is a New York Times bestseller.

Jacques Pépin
“If you have talent, the techniques are the engine, the means by which you express that talent.” If you have talent, the techniques are the engine, the means by which you express that talent.

News

Now Available: Jacques Pépin Cooking My Way: Recipes and Techniques for Economical Cooking

All good chefs know not to waste ingredients, time, or effort—and for master chef Jacques Pépin, this means thinking smartly about cooking at home. In Jacques Pépin Cooking My Way: Recipes and Techniques for Economical Cooking (Harvest, September 26, 2023), the legendary cooking teacher offers expert insights on cooking economically with techniques that save money, time, and cleanup effort, without sacrificing taste.

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Jacques Pépin Cooking My Way book cover
“Whether it is in painting, in cooking, in cabinet making or any other craft, you have to become a good technician and repeat and repeat until you reach the point where you have so internalized those skills that they become an unconscious part of you.” Whether it is in painting, in cooking, in cabinet making or any other craft, you have to become a good technician and repeat and repeat until you reach the point where you have so internalized those skills that they become an unconscious part of you.