Jacques Pépin finds a little irony in the session he’ll lead at the International Association of Culinary Professionals convention on Friday. That session is called “What French Cuisine Can Offer Modern Cooks.”
“The irony of this is that after 52 years in America or so, even after 10 years, my mother would come, and I would be cooking. She would taste what I’m doing and say, ‘Ooh, this is really good, but it’s not French anymore,’\u2009″ said Pépin, the French-born chef whose face is familiar to television cooking fans ranging from the earliest PBS shows to the Food Network era.
“So I don’t think that I’ve cooked truly, purely French — certainly according to her — for many, many years. But I don’t really care. I don’t try to cook French, but by the same token I don’t try not to cook French. I cook things that I like to eat,” he said. “In that context, I may be the purer American cook, because I partake of different types of cuisine, and that’s what we do here. Maybe the definition of American cuisine is that it’s not definable.”
Pépin’s canon of dishes both classic and personalized is represented in “Essential Pépin: More Than 700 All-Time Favorites From My Life in Cooking” ($40, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), coming in October. In addition to his French cooking session, which is open only to IACP convention attendees, Pépin will be part of two IACP events open to the public on Friday. He’ll be part of a culinary book fair from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Friday at the Hilton Austin Hotel, 500 E. Fourth St. ($10 in advance at iacppublicevents.eventbrite.com or $15 at the door), and he’ll judge the Edible Texas Wine Food Match at 7 p.m. ($100, details at www.edibleaustin.com/ediblewandf ).
American-Statesman: With so many books and cookbooks to your name, how do you find something new to say?
Jacques Pépin: I’m hungry. I want to eat, and I want to cook. There is always a new way of doing something, whether it’s an idea that you get in a restaurant or at the market or some place or another.
As a man who came up through the kitchen apprentice system, what do you think of the instant food celebrity culture today?
Well, it’s another world altogether. We don’t learn the same way that we used to. Last week, I went to the French Culinary Institute in New York. I was there during the finals. This is a six-month program where they do 600 hours of cooking. It’s very, very intensive. When I see what they can do after six months, I am flabbergasted. I would never have been able to do half of this in three years of apprenticeship. I heard a couple of weeks ago that there are close to 500 television shows on cooking. Many of them don’t do that much cooking. It’s more entertainment, which is fine.
In your memoir “The Apprentice,” you described the nuanced simplicity of making an omelet. If you were to teach one dish to a young cook, what would that dish be?
Maybe a leek and potato soup or a roast chicken, something simple but really satisfying. (Recipes below.)
I was surprised by your enthusiasm for commercialized food when you worked for Howard Johnson’s. How did you come to embrace that so fully?
It was exciting to know about American eating habits and mass production, which I didn’t know anything about. It was exciting to know about the chemistry of food. We had several chemists doing coliform and bacteria counts and so forth. And certainly later on in my life, when I opened the commissary at the World Trade Center and the restaurant called La Potagerie in New York or when I was at the Russian Tea Room and all that, I would not have been able to do those things if I hadn’t had the training that I had at Howard Johnson’s. Remember that Howard Johnson’s was not really a fast-food restaurant; it was a family restaurant with sit-down dinners with waitresses and all that. It was a very comforting, simple restaurant. Quite good, actually.
La Potagerie, which was all about soup, seemed to pioneer the specialty restaurant in America.

French cuisine would not be what it is today if it weren’t for the influence of Italy, first and foremost through the culinary icon Catherine de Medici. Catherine, a Florentine who married into French nobility at the age of 14, had a profound influence on the Renaissance in 16th century France, specifically on French haute cuisine and entertaining. This plump young lady, who was later nicknamed “The Italian Grocer”, moved to Paris to wed King Henry of France, and while she shared no influence during his lifetime, the era following his death in 1574 was named “The Age of Catherine de’ Medici” because of her political influence during her 3 sons reigns and perhaps also due to her contributions to French Gastronomy.

When Catherine moved to France, she brought with her a crew of friends, servants, cooks, and waiters who can be held responsible for the French/Italian fusion. This group was responsible for exposing the French to new vegetables such as Savoy cabbage, broccoli, peas, boiled and fava beans, parsley, and artichokes. They also introduced new fruits including apples, apricots, peaches, cherries, figs, and melons. And while Italian chefs from her crew introduced secret recipes such as canard a l’orange (duck in orange), Catherine herself was responsible for a different idea of separating sweet and salty as well.

While this gluttonous lady was not very popular with the French, they particularly liked the desserts that she brought with her. In addition to breads, cakes, pastries, and marmalades, her ice cream and flavor ices, also known as sorbets, were a huge hit among the French. In fact, ice cream was a favorite among them as it was difficult to produce and ice was limited, causing it to originally be limited mostly to the wealthy. Other rich delights that she exposed to her new country were butters and truffles; aspics, a gelatin made from meat stock; and béchamel and other sauces. Another rich recipe that was introduced to the French was carabaccia, or onion soup.

Along with the food, Catherine brought a new elegant style and refinement to the table. She believed in a more lavish, gluttonous style of entertaining that included a more proper, civilized table setting. In fact, before Catherine only 2 utensils were utilized. It is she that introduced the fork to the French dinner table. She also brought more luxurious dishes and glasses so that the format of events was more proper. Venetian crystal glasses and fine silverware had been unheard of before Catherine de Medici graced them with her presence.

While Catherine may not have been the most admired individual in the French court, her presence without a doubt inspired and influenced French cuisine and affects meals served even today.

Honeymoon is the finest time to fritter with your beloved, to enjoy and to treasure the cute memories.To makes your honeymoon the most memorable one you can visit France. France is known the emblem of romance and is an ideal place to live a quality time with your better half. France is undoubtedly one of the biggest states in Europe. The beautiful coastline of France is expanded over 5500 km. This coastline surely offers the best romantic walk.

Best Time To Visit France
France is a typical honeymoon destination and it will definitely help you to make your better half feel really special. The spring season is the best time to explore the sweet memories of your honeymoon. This is the ideal time to go on the romantic cruises with your life partner.

Major Places Of Attraction in France
France has lots of attractions for the honeymooners. Some of the major attractions of France are as under.

1. Brittany
It is situated to the north-west direction of France. It has the English Channel in its north and the marvelous Bay of Biscay in the south. Brittany is the most admired province of France. This place has awesome coastline, beautiful beaches and truly magnificent historical architecture.

2. The Dordogne
The Dordogne is known for castles. This beautiful place is in the North West direction of the France. The Dordogne River in this region is the major attraction for the tourists.

3. Paris
Paris is the marvelous city that is loved by all. There are many Street side restaurants and cafes. The city has many popular sites for example Notre Dame Cathedral and Eiffel tower that makes Paris one of the most admirable places to visit.

France has lots of excitements and fun that will make your honeymoon unforgettable one.

Things To do
You can’t even think of the fun that France can offer. There are many activities such site seeing, astonishing nightlife etc. You can climb the Eiffel tower and get a fabulous view of France. Shopping is the best thing that you can do in Paris as you will be able to extract the real culture of France from here.

Because of the astonishing natural beauty and lovely culture France is capable to grab the attention of the newly wedded couple. France is one of the finest places where you can spend your honeymoon. Do visit France for an unforgettable and memorable honeymoon. Enjoy your best moments in the world’s best place.

After the stress of planning your wedding, you have earned a few days of fun! Just you and your spouse in an exotic locale with an open schedule.

While living in France, my family learned to love some recipes that we really miss now that we’re back home. After some experimentation and a few boo-boos, success is mine!

Our first favorite is pain au chocolat. Roughly translated, it is chocolate bread, and it is a favorite breakfast food in France. It is also extraordinarily popular as an after school snack. This food is so popular, they sell them in plastic wrappers in packs of 8 or 10, just like our hot dog buns! Now, keep in mind that the French version uses a type of croissant dough that takes hours to make by hand. I found the following two methods give me a reasonable substitute that my family likes.

First and probably easiest is the crescent roll version. I open a can of crescent rolls, but separate the pastry into rectangles by keeping two of the triangles together. I press the seams with a moist finger to seal them together. One can makes 8 crescent rolls, so it makes 4 French pastries. I have a big family, so I need 4 cans. If you have a small family, you can make do with two cans. Next, take your favorite plain chocolate bars ( like you would use to make S’mores) and cut the bars into strips parallel to the short side, about 1/4″ wide. Lay out one rectangle of dough, and put two strips of chocolate on top, set in from each short end enough so that you can take each end and fold it over the chocolate. The edges of the two folds should touch in the middle of the pastry. Once you have folded the dough, turn it seam side down and go on to the next one. Once you have them completed, bake the dough as directed on the package. When they are done, pop them out of the oven and serve them warm. You can use dark or milk chocolate, but traditionally the French use darker chocolates than we do.

The second method is to buy frozen puff pastry squares and follow the rest of the instructions above. These are a little closer to the true texture of the bread dough used in France, but a little more costly to make.

With either method, you could substitute a line of chocolate chips for the strips of chocolate if you don’t have bars of chocolate on hand. Since it all melts in the end, it really doesn’t matter.

French cuisine is one of the most sort after cuisines in the world, and there are hundreds of French restaurants all across the country. If you want to replicate that fine culture and rich taste in your own cooking, whether hoping to build a career or simply to improve the food you eat each day, then French culinary school could be just the way to go about it.

There are many cooking schools specializing in French cuisine. One of the top cooking schools that specialize in French food is Le Cordon Bleu, which has become a world leader in training professional chefs since its inception. There are many world famous chefs that have graduated from this institution including American Iron chef Mario Batali.

When choosing the cooking school to sign up to, check whether their tutors are French themselves or have an established background in French cuisine. You should also research the kind of qualification you will be getting at the end of your course. This will depend upon the level of course you sign up to, with schools usually teaching the very basics all the way up to gourmet cooking depending on your needs.

Graduating from a French culinary school will leave you well-placed to get a job in a top French restaurant. You will also benefit from the ability to cook meals that not only feed the family, but are an art form in their own right. And when you learn how to cook delicious French recipes, you will also learn to appreciate the culture behind them and why the food is so important.

Knowledgeable answers only please
French is the cuisine of choice for wealthier Americans, so wouldn’t they choose French wine also?

My aunt is going to Provence, France for 15-18 days next summer and she said that I can go with if I want to. I’m 19 and I’m not sure if that’s somewhere I’d like to go or if there’s enough to do there for that long. Should I go?

While travelling to France, what the first thing goes through your mind? Rightly thought, yes it’s the Paris, the wines and the landscapes. But France as a travel destination is much more than all this. So let’s start the journey to rediscover France and get lost in the landscape. France right from the ancient period is the symbol of culture, values and resilience.

France is surrounded by the great Mediterranean to its south and the long coastline of Atlantic Ocean to its west. To the North of France, lies the part of the Great Britain. France is divided into 22 administrative regions out of which the seven cultural regions are of prime importance.

The most sought after destination in France is the picturesque Paris which has a timeless contemporary appeal. It is called as the city of lights and is a symbol of love. Paris is situated along the Seine River. The most visited one in Paris is Eiffel Tower, the Centre Pompidou and the Louvre museum. The next destination you will be heading to will be Bordeaux, the city of wine. The city will mesmerize you by its discreet charm. From the gastronomic greatness to artistic endeavors everything in Bordeaux will enthrall you to the core. Apart from the beauty it has the best wine in the world.

The next tourist destination is the Lyon; it is the second largest city in France located in Rhone Alps. It has the history of roman civilization and resistance. Today as the things stand, it still has the footprints of the civilization.

There is much more to this fascinating country than mountains and lakes. It has the greenery in the Nantes, which is one of the greenest tourist spot in Europe. Keep an umbrella while travelling in the Nantes since there will be a time when you will think that rains are at a distance but rains will surely surprise you by knocking your door.

All in all a travelers paradise, where in you will have a tryst with the divine art, breathtaking architecture , stirring history, panoramic mountains, beautiful seas and in the end will get lost in the majestic landscapes of France.