The Apprentice - by Jacques Pépin (Paperback)

About the Book

In this captivating memoir, republished in a beautiful new edition with French flaps and a foreword by Anthony Bourdain to celebrate his 80th birthday, Jacques Pépin tells the story of his rise from a frightened apprentice in Old World French kitchens to a superstar who taught millions of Americans how to cook. We see young Jacques first as a homesick six-year-old boy in war-ravaged France. Working his way up the ladder in the feudal system of France's most famous restaurants, he becomes Charles de Gaulle's personal chef.

When he comes to the America, he falls in with the leaders of the country's food revolution: Julia Child, Craig Claiborne, and James Beard. Jacques proves himself to be a master of reinvention, turning down a job as John F. Kennedy's chef to develop recipes for Howard Johnson's and, after a near-fatal car accident, switching careers to become a charismatic TV celebrity. The book includes forty of Jacques's all-time favorite recipes and dozens of photographs from his private collection.

Book Synopsis

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 café, 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 soufflé 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.

Review Quotes

"Prose as joyful and rich as the author's food." Kirkus Reviews

".....a delicious book...a joy." -The New York Times Book Review The New York Times Book Review

"The real pleasure of this book is spending time with a thoughtful and sophisticated man, one whose memories and thoughts inevitably turn to food and cooking." - Epicurious

"The kind of well-prepared prose you want to devour slowly." The Oregonian

"A well written, funny, sad, informative and always enchanting account of an incredible career. . . An instant classic." Anthony Bourdain, author of Kitchen Confidential

"A feast." People Magazine

"Pepin writes the way most chefs wish they could cook. . . (The Apprentice) goes down like a feast. . . a worthy indulgence." Gentleman's Quarterly

"An appetizing read." The Oregonian

"A fun chronicle of a half century of progress in the American kitchen." - Saveur

About the Author

JACQUES PÉPIN has published twenty-five cookbooks, including the best-selling Essential Pépin, Jacques Pépin Fast Food My Way, and Jacques Pépin More Fast Food My Way. He has also starred in twelve acclaimed cooking TV series. He has won multiple James Beard Awards and several IACP Cookbook Awards.