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The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen
✍️ Pepin, Jacques
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📝 Description: The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen
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 Pepin 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.
💎 Expert review
⭐ Reader reviews
The starting rating comes from the team Eatbook Family —
Reader rating
4.4
Based on 1 reviews
E
Eatbook Family editorial team
This edition serves as a vibrant entry point for those curious about the origins of American cooking television and the French culinary hierarchy. However, readers seeking dense technical manuals or purely instructional guides may find the memoir sections distracting. It is not suited for those who prefer concise recipe collections without biographical context. The focus on Pepin’s personal journey and industry connections makes it more of a cultural artifact than a rigorous technique text. While engaging for history buffs, the sparse summary limits our ability to judge the depth of specific kitchen anecdotes beyond the broad strokes provided by the publisher.
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