Customer Reviews

The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've been waiting for this book my whole life! I sat down with the book last evening, intending to read for a while, maybe return later. Could not put it down. A well written, funny, sad, informative and always enchanting account of an incredible career. Pepin's account of coming up through the his family's bistros, then the old school European hotel/restaurant system--and later New York's legendary Le Pavillon-- is fascinating first person memoir--and terrific history. I can't say enough good things about this book. It's right up there with Orwell, Freeling, Bemelmans--but better, richer, more passionately drawn. An instant classic.

I enjoyed this read tremendously, and if you're into food, so will you.

Pepin writes very unassumedly, and is most humble about his very productive career, from personal chef to DeGaulle to fame in America and TV star.

From his humble roots to his current fame which is spreading, this guy can cook and reflects significantly in his career of the changes in gourmet cooking.

The stories he provides are the highlight for me: the apprentice spook with the chicken boning machine, his incidents with learning the English language (e.g. the story of the word in French for shower when asked why his head was wet), the presentation of "sanitary napkins", his TV pilot shot with ingredients from the trash, etc. These all provide for just an absolutely magnficent read.

Recipes are provided for each segment of his career. Especially respectful of this chef who knows the finest of formal, rigid French classical cooking, but himself admitting that he likes American basic, comfort food and new style of combing old with new.

Refreshing read from a food Hall of Famer!

I have always had the greatest respect for Jacques Pepin based on the high reputation of his culinary books, collaborations with Julia Child, and great good humor and skills displayed on various television appearances, but I have always wondered how he reached a position of high respect within his profession without a connection to a major restaurant for at least as long as I have known of him (the last 15 years). This book answers my question and a whole lot more, confirming my impression of Jacques as a major figure in culinary America and a great gentleman as well.
Without giving away too much of the book's story, I must point out that Jacques was, by some great good fortune, the chef to France's President Charles DeGaulle at a very young age. In fact, he appeared on the TV show `To Tell The Truth' and the panelists did not pick him as DeGaulle's chef because he was so very young. Upon coming to the United States, he quickly attained a position as a line chef under Pierre Franey at the great Le Pavillion, following Franey to a position in the test and development kitchens at Howard Johnson's. For those of you post baby boomers, I can assure you from first hand experience that at one time, Howard Johnson's was often considered a very desirable place to eat out.
Jacques would probably now be the owner / executive chef at a major restaurant but for a very serious automobile accident which broke most major bones and which left Jacques with only a slim chance to even be able to walk. Miraculously, he mended well to the point where he returned to an almost normal life, but without the ability to sustain the 12 to 14 hours on his feet at a typical chef's station. This lead to his career as a teacher, followed by cookbook writing and TV cooking series a la Julia on PBS.
This book ranks with some of the best culinary memoirs by being both engaging, inspiring, and revealing of the nature of culinary professionals' work in the kitchen. Aside from his associations with Julia Child and Pierre Franey, he was a close friend to Craig Claiborne and well known to James Beard and his company. Without doing any gratuitous name dropping, Pepin also relates revealing stories involving Danny Kaye, Alice Waters and `the great' Paul Bocuse. This is not the first Danny Kaye culinary story I have read, and these little peeks into his cooking skills make me wish he had done a culinary memoir / cookbook similar to many less skillful non-culinary celebrities. The encounter with Paul Bocuse casts some light on the nature of the nouvelle cuisine movement in France.
One of the most interesting insights obtained from this book is the picture of the American culinary scene in 1960, as seen by a very experienced and talented French chef and how this scene has changed in the last 40 years.
I heartily recommend this book to anyone with a taste for culinary memoirs. This is one of the best. My only reservation is that it left me wanting more, as it seemed to give very few details about the last 20 years of his life. I hope that is not because they have been dull!
The book includes 24 recipes, the most interesting being the two attributed to his mother (apple tart and cheese souffle) and the one attributed to Danny Kaye (poached chicken salad).

What a marvelous read!! What's not to like about this memoir? Jacques is a life-loving man who has had a fabulous life cooking and living. The book reveals a man very much like the generous, creative, charming cooking teacher I've admired for so long. His book now demonstrates his skill as a writer and raconteur. Do yourself a favor and read this remarkable book. I was sorry when it ended.

As satisfying as a 5-star meal, as delicious as his mother's cheese souffle, Jacques Pepin's autobiography is rich in scenes, friends, recipes, and anecdotes.

Surely one of the most famous chefs in the world who came into homes through his PBS cooking shows and popular cookbooks, Pepin now reveals the story behind the public face.

Born in prewar France to a cabinetmaker and an energetic woman who owned a small restaurant Pepin was enamored with the kitchen as a youth. He left his formal education behind at the age of 13 to sign on as an apprentice in the arduous training system then required. It was a difficult road he had chosen in a system reminiscent of feudal days. Yet the young man persevered, and before the age of twenty found himself in France's most elite restaurant. Next, he would become personal chef to Charles de Gaulle.

After coming to America he numbered among his friends those with like interests and gifts - Julia Child and James Beard. He also earned a degree from Columbia University, and began to work for Howard Johnson.

A serious automobile accident might have meant the end of anyone's career, but not Pepin's. When he was unable to keep up the daily routine in a kitchen he became a cooking teacher, and a television icon.

"The Apprentice: My Life In The Kitchen" is a joy to read and savor.

- Gail Cooke

Not being a devotee of the Food Channel, I discovered Jacques Pepin by accident. Channel surfing one day, I stumbled upon Jacques' transforming a big slab of meat into a beautiful roast, trimmed and tied. The sureness with which he handled his knives, his knowledge of the animal's anatomy, and the warm confidence with which he shared his knowledge -- "of course you can do this at home!" -- hooked me immediately.

"The Apprentice" tells the story of how he acquired this deep knowledge, and does it with style and charm. The story opens in war-time France, where Jacques and his brothers were sent to farms in the remote countryside during the summers for their safety... and in the hopes of avoiding food shortages prevalent in urban areas. From his earliest days, Jacques shadowed the women in his life as they cooked for their families, from the farmers' wives to his mother, an accomplished cook in her own right.

After the war, his mother parlayed her cooking skills and entrepreneurial spirit into a succession of increasingly successful restaurants, with Jacques and his three brothers helping out before and after school. From an early age, Jacques knew he wanted to be a chef. He left school at 13 and began an apprenticeship at a nearby hotel. For the next few years he moved from job to job, city to city, working 16 hours a day to lay down the foundation of skills -- stocks! aspics! forcemeats! -- that are the hallmark of the classically trained french chef.

His career as a chef hit a peak a few years later, when in his early 20's he found himself cooking for french Presidents, including a memorable stint for De Gaulle. He then came to America, and embarked on what must have been a very unorthodox career. He served as an Executive Chef at Howard Johnson's and ran his own soup restaurant before settling in as the author, teacher, and TV chef we know today. Along the way he tells the stories of the kitchens and personalities he encountered, from French politicians to American food luminaries such as Craig Claiborne, Julia Child, Pierre Franey. All in all, a charming and engaging read.

This 2003 hardcover edition yields a nice personal biography of beloved French chef, Jacques Pépin. He has also given us a few of his unique recipes along the way.

The book covers Pépin's life, including details of his immediate family, from childhood until recent times. He also talks about many of his well-known close associates such as James Beard, Craig Claiborne, Julia Child, Ed Giobbi, and Helen McCully. This work is nicely illustrated with many photos from Pépin's lifetime.

Pépin was born in France (his father participated in the resistance movement during the WW II years) where he was apprenticed to renowned French chefs of the period. When he came to America he worked a long stretch for Howard Johnson but ultimately he went out on his own to engage in developing recipes for "American cuisine" -- writing cookbooks and teaching others his superb culinary techniques eventually became his forté and hallmark. He also discusses his successful marriage, his near-fatal car crash, and how he rose to conduct his numerous television appearances and programs.

There are a few of Pépin's recipes in here but this is by no means a cookbook. Most of the recipes are there simply to punctuate the commentary of text. For some of Pépin's best recipes, get Jacques Pepin's Simple and Healthy Cooking.

This is not what one would call a compelling biography but it's certainly an interesting one, especially for those who are fans of Jacques Pépin and/or for anyone interested in the culinary arts.

This was a wonderful read, as a memoir, a fooddie book, and a cookbook. I knew nothing about Pepin besides the name, but his is a remarkable story. The writing is light, snappy, and engaging. He paints a lovely picture of food as a part of life. The story where the snails are all over the bathroom...! Cooking for DeGaulle, almost by accident, and then for Howard Johnsons... Best of all, the recipes are good. The souffle recipe and the tart recipe have become standards in our house; I must have made them a dozen times already, often with easy variations. Just can't recommend it highly enough as a light read in any season.

Jacques Pepin is very unassuming. This comes through in his recipes and his autobiography "The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen." For anyone interested in cooking and learning more about those creative souls who bring new ideas to the 'family' kitchen, this is a great -- and very lite -- read. Jacques Pepin may very well represent a unique combination: a 'celebrity chef' who is above all well trained and truly dedicated to food ingredients in their most essential form: as elements of a creative process which at it's most essential is also most satisfying. Pepin's account of his life's journey combines bemusement -- in regard to his success -- and a certain amount of marvel at his naivete in regard to what it takes to be successful -- from when he left home, to when he journeyed to America, to his first (unsuccessful) forays into television. At the end of it all, you can't help both laughing and liking the guy. Unlike the recently published biography of Julia Child, "The Apprentice" is a warm and satisfying read... kind of like a good cup of hot chocolate.....

Jacques Pepin led an interesting life and this book brings out his passage from apprentice in France, to celebrity chef in the USA. The recipes are a bonus. I made several of the simple recipes, and they came out as he described. This book is a must for "would be chefs" or entertaining for amateur "foodies."