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Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen
Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen | Jacques Pepin
11 posts | 12 read | 20 to read
In this captivating memoir, the man whom Julia Child has called the best chef in America tells the story of his rise from a frightened apprentice in an exacting Old World kitchen to an Emmy Award winning superstar who taught millions of Americans how to cook and shaped the nation s tastes in the bargain. We see young Jacques as a homesick six-year-old boy in war-ravaged France, working on a farm in exchange for food, dodging bombs, and bearing witness as German soldiers capture his father, a fighter in the Resistance. Soon Jacques is caught up in the hurly-burly action of his mother's cafe, where he proves a natural. He endures a literal trial by fire and works his way up the ladder in the feudal system of France s most famous restaurant, finally becoming Charles de Gaulle s personal chef, watching the world being refashioned from the other side of the kitchen door. When he comes to America, Jacques immediately falls in with a small group of as-yet-unknown food lovers, including Craig Claiborne, James Beard, and Julia Child, whose adventures redefine American food. Through it all, Jacques proves himself to be a master of the American art of reinvention: earning a graduate degree from Columbia University, turning down a job as John F. Kennedy s chef to work at Howard Johnson s, and, after a near-fatal car accident, switching careers once again to become a charismatic leader in the revolution that changed the way Americans approached food. Included as well are forty all-time favorite recipes created during the course of a career spanning nearly half a century, from his mother s utterly simple cheese souffle to his wife s pork ribs and red beans.The Apprentice is the poignant and sometimes funny tale of a boy s coming of age. Beyond that, it is the story of America s culinary awakening and the transformation of food from an afterthought to a national preoccupation."
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Macnjen
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13 likes1 stack add
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Foragingfantasy
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Pickpick

This book was everything I needed it to be. I spent hours of my youth absorbing Jacques on PBS with Julie, with his daughter Claudine… I absolutely adored every moment.

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DebinHawaii
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#TuesdayTidbits 🤔
Mahalo @jfalkens for the tag! 🌺😘

1. I started The Mysteries of Udolpho last year on Serial Reader, got waylaid in January & haven't been able to get back into it. I'm at 70% with 35 episodes left. I will finish it one day! 💪🏻
2. 🍿& hummus with veggies/chips, tea & 🍪or 🍫
3. The tagged book-probably technically memoir, but it covers a big part of Chef Pepin's life & is a fave. 🥄
4. @Texreader @CaroPi if you want to! 🤗

EllanaRose I love Udolpho. If you can, I recommend going back to it. There's a charming moment near the end 6y
DebinHawaii @EllanaRose I definitely will. I think I just got out of the rhythm of it. I just went back to the Serial Reader app and did a rewind and went back a couple chapters before I stopped so it will start the episodes daily again. 👍📚 6y
EllanaRose Enjoy! 6y
Texreader I want to respond but should I wait till next Tuesday? 😉 6y
DebinHawaii @Texreader I think you can do it any time you want! 😆👍 6y
61 likes5 comments
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Pandalibrarian
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Pickpick

What a great book! As one of my friends said, J‘adore Jacques. I‘ve been watching Jacques on PBS for a long time and always appreciated his down to earth dishes and the time he spent showing how to do everything on the kitchen. This comes through in this book, too. The stories of his childhood, his career in America, and his family are beautifully told. And the recipes are the perfect accompaniment. And I finished it before book club this week!

DebinHawaii I loved this one and Pepin too! 💜🥄 6y
Pandalibrarian Should be a good book group discussion tonight - I bought some French wine for the occasion! 6y
16 likes1 stack add2 comments
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seebiscan
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Hilarious moment of the day: when your boyfriend asks if you want to go in the amazing @57thStreetBooks and is surprised that you want to buy a book. 😂

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DebinHawaii
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My meals are often my food blog posts or leftovers. Tonight's dinner will be tomorrow's post. Jacques Pepin's Fromage Fort-which is really nothing more than tossing leftover cheese pieces into the food processor w/garlic, white wine & black pepper. Yum! This one includes Brie, goat cheese, blue & other cheeses, served w/baguette, grapes & white wine. It's not from his memoir, it's for a blog movie event for French Kiss w/Meg Ryan & Kevin Kline🧀🐭

Bostonmomx2 Dang. I could eat that all day long. 7y
Jaimelire I love him and his food! 7y
readinginthedark 😍That sounds and looks amazing, and French Kiss is one of my favorite movies of all time!!! 7y
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Zelma I love everything about this post! French Kiss, wine, cheese spread... ❤️ 7y
ApoptyGina69 Childhood-as-an-adult dream:build a fort out of cheese! 🧀OK, just kidding. I've made this too. I love it!! 7y
Cinfhen 🙌🏻❤️ 7y
BooksForEmpathy Oooooh French Kiss. I loved that movie!! I should re-watch it now. And yes, fromage fort is just the best. 7y
Elisa Oh wow that sounds amazing! Totally going to make that. 😋😋😋🧀🥖 7y
DebinHawaii @Bostonmomx2 That is a temptation--it's hard to put down! 😆 @Jaimelire Me too! @readinginthedark @Zelma @BooksForEmpathy I hadn't seen it in years. It was fun to watch it again! 👍 @Cinfhen 😆 @ApoptyGina69 I am thinking fort of books, eat the cheese! 📚🧀😆 @Elisa It is pretty darn delicious for something that takes minutes to make.👍 7y
SaraFair I could not believe that he was so small when born they kept him in a shoe box until he got big enough for a bed. Really enjoyed that book. 👍🏻 7y
DebinHawaii @SaraFair I know! It's a great story. He's a treasure! 💜📚 7y
124 likes5 stack adds11 comments
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DebinHawaii
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Pickpick

Day11 #booktober #memorablememoirs I love foodie memoirs & Jacques Pepin's is one of the best. From his youth in France, to his Paris apprenticeships at a young age, his move to the U.S. In 1959 & the celebrity that followed w/his PBS shows, cookbooks & friendship w/ Julia Child, Pepin remains gracious, humble & is still going strong at almost 81. There are a couple dozen of his favorite recipes included. Link to blog review/recipe pairing below❤️

KarenUK Sounds wonderful... Stacked! 📚 8y
DebinHawaii Link to review and Tomato Chowder with Mollet Eggs recipe here: http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/2014/07/tomato-chowder-with-mollet-eggs-for.h... 8y
Suzze I love foodie memoirs too, added to my list! 8y
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BethFishReads Oh I liked this one. Good choice 8y
ValerieAndBooks This was a good one 👍! 8y
DebinHawaii @KarenUK @Suzze I think you'll enjoy it! @BethFishReads @ValerieAndBooks Yes! I think it's one of my favorite chef memoirs for sure. 🍴❤️ 8y
63 likes6 stack adds6 comments
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Ponyonabalcony
Pickpick

There are a lot of things I love about this book, primarily the grace with which JP writes about food and people. It has so much feeling and mainly eschews the annoying look at how cool I am vibe that so many memoirs (all kinds but maybe especially chef) have these days.