(Courtesy Jacques Pépin) Jacques Pépin (left) with his brothers Bichon and Roland, 1957. Jacques Pépin as a young apprentice in front of his mother’s restaurant, Chez Pépin. When he was drafted into the French navy, Pépin's work ethic and creativity eventually garnered him the position as personal chef to three French heads of state, including Charles de Gaulle. His first kitchen experience was in one of the family restaurants his mother opened after the Second World War, which the teenage Pépin parlayed into apprenticeships at some of the finest establishments in Paris. The film uses re-enactment, family photos and archival footage to cover the chef's early life.
Pépin was no slouch when he arrived in the U.S. Jacques Pépin (left), his brother Roland, his mother Jeannette, his younger brother Bichon, and aunts and uncles in front of the family restaurant, Chez Pépin. This idea is repeated in several recent documentaries, but given my own proximity to Rainbow Grocery and Whole Foods market, I still find it hard to grasp. Everything is convenient, pre-sliced and pre-packaged. The industrial practices that fed the troops in WWII have been weaponized to feed the masses and to make "daily household drudgery" (like cooking) a thing of the past. supermarket with a young Jacques Pépin to discover with horror the only mushrooms on offer come in a can. Whenever we revisit the lives of celebrity chefs whose revolution eventually stocked our grocery store shelves with foods we now take for granted, we must first imagine the landscape BEFORE they arrived. Stein says, "It's sometimes really nice to remember that people come to these shores, do good in the world and build something that actually changes culture." In a political climate that puzzlingly discounts the contributions of immigrants, Pépin's adventure is a buoyant illustration of the catalytic grit, wit and innovation one newcomer can bring to an America still dreaming. Second, this "American" master's French accent is still pretty thick, even after all these years. The film fizzes, pops and then is gone, like the delicate bubbles in a fine champagne. First, it's not long enough Pépin is such a charming character that - especially in film digest form - he leaves us wanting more. Stein's American Masters documentary Jacques Pépin: The Art of Craft, which premieres at San Francisco's Castro Theatre on Tuesday, Apand will premiere nationally on PBS stations Friday, May 26, at 9pm. There are only two things wrong with Peter L.