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The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen

Jacques Pépin

4.17 · Rating details · 7,027 Ratings · 517 Reviews

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 F ...more

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Paperback, 352 pages

Published May 7th 2004 by Rux Martin/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (first published April 1st 2003)

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Aug 17, 2018 Petra X marked it as own-want-to-read

Shelves: brbnr-1, brbnr-e

I'm sure I've read this one, but it's not on my shelves. One of the GR missing books there are no explanations for, or crap memory?

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Oct 16, 2010 George rated it really liked it

With all the literary giants cramming my bookshelf, it's surprising how much pleasure can be had from reading a book such as this one. This was a wonderful (and wonderfully written) book about a humble yet extremely accomplished man. Jacques is my new hero. He is highly skilled, hard working, charming, and possesses that simple, ageless kind of wisdom that Americans almost never seem to acquire. In addition to being a great cook and skilled technician, he is a kind of Zelig of the culinary world With all the literary giants cramming my bookshelf, it's surprising how much pleasure can be had from reading a book such as this one. This was a wonderful (and wonderfully written) book about a humble yet extremely accomplished man. Jacques is my new hero. He is highly skilled, hard working, charming, and possesses that simple, ageless kind of wisdom that Americans almost never seem to acquire. In addition to being a great cook and skilled technician, he is a kind of Zelig of the culinary world, rubbing shoulders with Charles de Gaulle, Pierre Franney, Howard Johnson, Julia Child, Craig Claiborne (long time NYT food critic and media celebrity) and the Kennedys, as well as more contemporary cooking giants like Michel Keller. His resume reads like a Michelin guide to Parisian and New York French restaurants in the 1950s and 1960s, and his accomplishments in media are even more impressive - literally dozen of books and hundreds of hours of PBS shows, etc etc. His childhood begins in rural France during World War II, during which he lived a simple life, close to the land, with few comforts other than his mother, an impressive and resourceful woman who kept her family afloat despite her husband's war-time absence, and his two brothers. Jaques' love and respect for his family shines through every page, and despite years of physical separation after his emigration to the United States in the late 1950s, he is still very close with him. His father passes away years ago, and tragically both his younger brothers have recently died of lung cancer. However I believe his mother is still alive. By all accounts she is a remarkable woman and a true survivor.

As an example, while working as a waitress during wartime, she had three boys to feed but little money. In addition, butter and sugar and such things were rationed and extremely difficult to find. So Jannette had to get creative, and in the process became a cook:

"Somehow we managed, and we ate every day, but necessity exposed my taste buds to some unconventional recipes. In lieu of sugar, which wasn't available, Maman made a wartime sweetener by cooking beets in water on her wood stove for hours, straining the mixture, and then reducing the syrup to a thick brownish liquid. It filled the entire apartment with an earthy, slightly caramelized sweet scent -- an aroma every bit as appealing to me as the inside of a pastry shop."

The most startling, even shocking (at least to an American) element to French "country cuisine" as you might euphemistically call it, is offal -- that is, the entrails and internal organs of a butchered animal. Rural people in France have a long tradition of eating such delicacies, largely out of necessity. Here is another "wartime recipe" from Jacques mother:

"Another unlikely favorite of mine was mou au vin rouge: cubes of beef or veal lungs cooked with onion and the sediment left in the bottom of a red wine barrel. Before cutting them into cubes, Maman inflated the lungs by blowing into the trachea. ...Even though the spongy texture of the lungs and the acidity of the sauce would not thrill a gourmet, I loved mou au vin rouge. In a perverse way, I still do."

Years later, as a young man new to the U.S., Jacques would discover that offal provided another surprise:

"The early 1960s seemed a gentle time in New York. ...I thought nothing of strolling in the dark through Riverside Park, emerging onto bustling 125th Street, the throbbing heart of the Harlem music scene... On one of these late-night shambles, I passed the display window of a small grocery store and stopped in my tracks. There, in a refrigerated case, was a cornucopia of the sort of wonderful offal that I had never been able to find in my Upper East Side A&P. Tripe, pig's feet, kidneys of both veal and lamb,, chicken feet, liver, sweetbreads, brains, you name it.
"A soon as I got off work the next day, I hurried back to the store. That fabulous offal counter was overseen by an enormous African American wearing a bloodstained white apron. I took my place in the scrum that was gathered in front of the display -- men, women, kids and me, the only white face in the store. When my turn came, I realized to my horror that I hadn't a clue about the English names for my favorite pieces of offal. It wasn't the sort of place that had little plastic signs informing customers what each tray contained, so I was reduced to pointing and smiling. The guy manning the display picked up a half-dozen lamb kidneys with his hand, plopped them onto a sheet of butcher paper, folded it over, and handed my package to me with a nod toward the woman who sat near the floor behind a cash register. It seemed that the culinary African American culture had common roots with French country cuisine. Both traditions originated among poor rural people who had nothing. Everything had to be used, and over time, the resulting dishes became part of the culinary tradition. I may not have been able to converse with these people, but I felt an immediate affinity for their way of looking at food."

Like all lives to a greater or lesser degree, Jacques' has been both charmed and tragic (premature deaths of his brothers, close friend Craig Claiborne's dissolution and sad death, Jacques himself suffered through a terrible car accident) -- but fortunately, mostly charmed. That fate has chosen to smile upon such a good and decent man makes this small story about a cook uplifting and even triumphant.
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Apr 20, 2014 Ms.pegasus rated it liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: anyone familiar with the name of Jacques Pépin

Shelves: food, nonfiction, memoir-biography

Gregarious, devoted to family, an avid skier, and a student of French literature who once considered an academic career are not the traits one might associate with one of the most well-known and influential contemporary American chefs. However, these are some of the surprising qualities to be found in Jacques Pépin.

As a child he experienced the privations of World War II. He was a locavore long before the term even existed. During the summer he was sent to the Lyon countryside as farm labor in Gregarious, devoted to family, an avid skier, and a student of French literature who once considered an academic career are not the traits one might associate with one of the most well-known and influential contemporary American chefs. However, these are some of the surprising qualities to be found in Jacques Pépin.

As a child he experienced the privations of World War II. He was a locavore long before the term even existed. During the summer he was sent to the Lyon countryside as farm labor in exchange for food. The experience nurtured an abhorrence for waste as well as a keen appreciation for quality ingredients. A vivid passage recollecting his apprenticeship describes true free-range chickens: “It was natural that the first real dish I prepared on my own at Le Grand Hôtel de l'Europe would be chicken. Fertile, with gentle hills, scattered groves, and small rivers and lakes, the Bresse region is known for producing the best chickens in France. Its soil, low in phosphoric acid and calcium, yields a great variety of worms and insects, choice food for these free-range birds, which are distinguished by their blue feet, white plumage, and red cockscomb, the colors of the French flag.” (p.64)

He completed the traditional 3-year apprenticeship in 1952, learning to judge the meat's doneness by touch (the chef there did not believe in puncturing the meat in order to test it); and in another lyrical tribute to the humble chicken he states: “When le poulet chante (the chicken sings), I knew that the layers of fat had clarified, signifying that the chicken was nearly done.” (p.59) Of course, the real action was in Paris, and he finally gained a position at Le Plaza Athénée, which he likens to the “big leagues.” There he learned the formidable techniques handed down from the time of Escoffier.

When drafted into the Navy, he was saved from the front lines of the Algerian War, though not from the ire of martinets, by his chef's credentials, and the French officer corp's insistence on edible food! (His official cook's exam required the preparation of eggs bénédictine, a poached egg on a toast slice of brioche, lined with ham and capped with hollandaise sauce garnished with a slice of truffle – only in France!). In a convoluted move, he was able to get assigned to the Secretary of the Treasury, and later to the President of France. At the time of his discharge he was personal chef to President de Gaulle.

He could have stayed in Paris, but restless curiosity drove him elsewhere, this time to the United States, working under Pierre Franey at Le Pavillon in New York City. Pépin makes some interesting observations about American food. He found the produce and herbs to be milder. It was his first exposure to a supermarket. He was surprised at the limited types of vinegar, oil and mustards, and when he asked about mushrooms, he was directed to the canned goods aisle. The food world of the early 1960's was very different. Pépin embraced the new opportunities and became part of a generation of American tastemakers: James Beard, Craig Claiborne, Julia Child, and Helen McCully. Pépin's contributions to the American culinary revolution began in the commissaries of Howard Johnson and spread to the authorship of cookbooks, teaching, and television appearances, endeavors that continue through the present.

If you are already familiar with Jacques Pépin, or have seen his telecasts, this book will prove enjoyable, despite its lack of literary drama. Pépin maintains a controlled emotional detachment from these events that contrast with his enthusiasm for food and technique. However, each chapter concludes with a recipe, which illustrates the ways he combines his professional training with the limitations of the home cook. ...more

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Jan 12, 2008 Firecooked rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: foodie-books

actually read The Apprentice last year, after picking up the book at the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) in Napa Valley while on vacation. Both Roy and I read it, and both loved it. I have always liked Jacque Pepin’s TV shows (most memorable moment was when he was fixing some giblet dish, and for the liver, he said in his French accent “this, you feed to the dog”). He is one of those people who has had an amazing talent, and has picked his course in life, not just going the direction that tr ...more

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Oct 13, 2010 Bill Keefe rated it liked it

"How can you not like Jacques Pepin?" would be an admirable alternative title for this warm, personal story about a life well lived and a career in a field that fascinates many of us - (especially me!). Mr. Pepin mixes stories of cooking with glimpses into the lives of the rich, the famous and the accomplished people he meets and befriends as he plies his career these many years. He takes us mushroom hunting, cuts up rabbits, stokes oven fires, enthusiastically clears a California beach of snail ...more

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Jul 06, 2009 Deb rated it really liked it

Shelves: foodie-books, non-fiction, biography-memoirs, cook-the-books, re-reading, reading-for-review

Review Excerpt:

I was given a paperback copy of The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen by Jacques Pépin several years ago from a foodie friend and loved this memoir and learning about his story. Coming across my copy a few months ago, I was inspired to read it again and to make it my pick for this round of Cook the Books. My second reading confirmed two things--I adore Pépin even more, and that this book is one of my favorite all-time foodie memoirs. Beginning with Pépin's youth in France working ...more

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Dec 10, 2012 Tejas Janet rated it really liked it

Before reading his autobiography, I thought Jacques Pepin seemed like a really nice guy who knew his way around the kitchen. He was that classically-trained, nice guy with the appealing french accent on television cooking shows on PBS. The story of his life that unfolds in the pages here reinforces this view, but deepens and broadens it greatly. Get this straight: He's not just a nice guy. He's a nice guy who has worked with great discipline to not only succeed in his chosen occupation as a chef ...more

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Dec 29, 2015 Tatjana Dzambazova rated it it was amazing

This book is a real treat! i read it in a single breath; within one single day not moving from a sofa with a view of snowy mountains. You don't have to be a cook or love cooking to enjoy this book - the journey Pepin takes us on is filled with stories about serendipity in life and is sprinkled with a lot of humor. It starts in his childhood, a France during the WWII and ends today, in the glorious United States of America :). Life stories and anecdotes told in a simple yet engaging way. Clash or ...more

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Nov 01, 2007 Sarah rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: Foodies

Recommended to Sarah by: Jennifer Lin

Shelves: amsterdam-used-books, non-fiction

Really lovely book - I immediately wanted to run away to Paris and train as a chef's apprentice. It's amazing to me that many of my European friends have never heard of him - to me, he's France's most popular chef! Loved the dish on Julia Child, the NY Times Food Reviewer, and the descriptions of all the good dinner parties and fun. I love the photo of all the manly french chefs shirtless preparing their feasts. I made a few of the recipes and they were delightful.

I feel like I"m going to miss ...more

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Jan 23, 2017 Benjamin A Simerly rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

The book is a quick read but has a number of invaluable stories about earning a life the old-fashioned way; through hard work. Definitely worth the read, and probably re-read every once in a while.

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Oct 24, 2017 Pam rated it liked it

Shelves: mommy-s-shelf

I enjoyed reading this book and would like to give it 3.5 stars. The first 2/3 of the book really grabbed my attention and I enjoyed reading about the life of one of my favorite TV chefs, Jacques Pepin. However I thought the book lacked insight into his personal thoughts and life experiences. Important things like did he have any romances before his wife were absent. He also doesn't speak much about his life as a father. (And of course the book was published before his granddaughter was born, so ...more

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May 25, 2018 Rita Ciresi rated it really liked it

4.5 stars I loved this story about becoming a chef, told with so much heart and goodwill toward Pepin's family, friends, and co-workers. But reader beware: this memoir will make you hungry! My favorite sections dealt with Pepin's childhood in wartime France--I got a great sense of how hard it was to find food and make do during the Nazi occupation, and I admired his parents and all the adults who did their best to care for their children during this hard time. Another favorite part was learning ...more

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May 28, 2018 Jennifer rated it it was amazing

This is a beautiful book that details the life of an amazing chef! From day-to-day life of the French during WWII, training in French kitchens, coming to America, and becoming one of the teachers that decoded cooking...he tells of his own personal trials and successes. He has a message for both home cooks and self-entitled chefs to be humble, learn from a master, and do not think this career is going to make you a star. You need to do it because you cannot imagine doing anything else but cook!
Pl ...more

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Oct 11, 2017 Steve rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I love Jacques Pepin even though I cannot boil water without burning it. He's an amazing chef, and I always thought of him as personable, talented, professional, and really engaging. He has several shows on PBS in the US which are quite good. I thought I would be reading an autobiography of someone who was a chef who then got a TV show. I could not have been more wrong. Pepin does an excellent job of writing about life during World War 2 where he learned to gather ingredients and cook on a farm ...more

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Feb 20, 2018 Dilshat rated it liked it

Про Францию довольно интересно, про Америку сбивчиво и анекдотично.

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Dec 02, 2017 C rated it it was amazing

This man can do no wrong. A beautiful, lively memoir of an incredible life of cooking, eating, and loving.

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Jun 24, 2014 Tina rated it it was amazing

Shelves: memoirs

This is one of the most engaging memoirs I have read in a long time. I didn’t know anything about Jacques Pepin’s personal life, his childhood or training in the culinary industry. After reading this book I know so much about him and enjoyed each and every chapter. The funniest story, ok it was a little gross too, was about the calf’s heads. Actually there were many amusing stories in this book so it’s hard to pick just one.

Sometimes memoirs can be dry, a bit on the boring side. Not this one. I ...more

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Dec 30, 2017 Ashley rated it really liked it

This book is a lot like what I imagine the author’s food is like - simple yet elegant, rich in detail but not fussy, and super delicious. A very interesting, likable man.

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Sep 28, 2011 Seamus Thompson rated it really liked it

One of my heroes. The most democratic of celebrity chefs, Pepin was formally trained in France before moving to the US where he has lived for the last forty years. His cookbooks and cooking shows are characterized by a love of simple, unpretentious dishes made with high quality ingredients.

His memoir is exactly what I had hoped: a straightforward recollection of his life as a cook in restaurants, at home, in test kitchens, on TV, and in the classroom. It is clear that Pepin has a puckish sense o ...more

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Mar 18, 2013 Jacqie rated it liked it

I'm a fan of Jacques Pepin, from what I know about him. I have one of his cookbooks, and I use it a lot, because his recipes are unpretentious, easy, accessible, and they work. And they taste good!

However, other than his enjoyable instruction style, I didn't know much about him. So it was interesting to read how he came of age in the 40's and 50's, left school at the age of 13 and went straight into learning from classically trained French chefs in the kitchen after working in his mother's resta ...more

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Jan 19, 2012 Audrey rated it liked it

Shelves: foodie, lives, memoir

Pepin writes engagingly in this memoir of his years coming up in the kitchens of France. Pepin has an unpretentious approach to food, and a love of easygoing American manners and palates. It is a cliche perhaps that immigrants to America are the strongest adherents to the principles of democracy, but in this case, it's true. Pepin revels in each break from tradition he can make here. He loves that American eaters are flexible and willing to eat just about anything that tastes good, where French ...more

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May 17, 2009 Megan rated it liked it

Jacques Pepin seems like the kind of man you'd want to know. I loved reading about his childhood in the kitchen, the kinds of meals he'd eat with his family in France, and his stumbling into some amazing jobs—cooking for the presidents of France (with great tidbits about Charles DeGaulle) and devleoping meus and food operations for the Howard Johnson restaurants, of all things! Seriously, who knew?

Loved that he chose to pursue formal education after dropping out school at 13—not unusual for chef ...more

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Mar 11, 2008 Jonathan rated it really liked it

If you are a foodie and / or love to cook, you will probably like this book. It's a wonderful, easy, breezy read. Pepin's persona is warm, humble, and down-to-earth. You move through his life story along a mostly delightful string of anecdotes -- his culinary adolescence under his frugal and determined mother, his apprenticeship in the grunt-breaking kitchen hierarchy and apprentice / chef system in France, his serendipitous move to NYC, and his rise from unknown chef to television star and hous ...more

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May 12, 2012 Kim rated it really liked it

Shelves: 4-star

A charming memoir told in a series of selected stories and humorous anecdotes, with recipes sprinkled in between. Chef Pepin is really likeable, down-to-earth, and unpretentious about food. I loved the stories about his family, growing up in France with his two brothers and cooking in his mother’s restaurant. I was amazed to learn that he was personal chef to President de Gaulle, and worked in the test kitchen for Howard Johnson’s when he came to the U.S. Most interesting were his observations o ...more

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Jan 12, 2012 Katharine rated it really liked it

I really enjoyed this book. Pepin has an easy often humorous storytelling ability. Each chapter covers a part of his journey through cooking beginning in childhood. Each section ends with a recipe or two from that part of his life. He doesn't get too deep in certain areas but I think you get a good feel for how he got to where he is. He seems like a good and modest man with a deep interest and appreciation for food and cuisine. I would definitely read more from him.

The only thing keeping this fr ...more

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Sep 16, 2007 Erica rated it it was amazing

Jacques Pepin writes with humor and clear passion for his subject. This terrific memoir follows him from his childhood, toiling with his family in a series of bistros, to his apprenticeship in France -- leading to stints cooking for DeGaulle and several other French leaders -- and his emigration to America. Fascinating read for anyone interested in following the evolution of American cuisine from the "gastronomic wasteland" Pepin first encountered through the horrors of nouvelle cuisine to the c ...more

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Apr 02, 2008 Msgold rated it it was amazing

This autobiography tells the story of Jacques Pepin, the famous chef from TV and author of many cookbooks. He tallks about the small restaurant his mom ran when he was a boy in France, and gives recipes for some of the foods that were very important in his life.

He explains how people in France learn to be professional chefs, and what it was like to come to the USA as an adult not knowing any English.

He discussed how restaurants such as Howard Johnson's develop new items for their menus. He also ...more

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Dec 06, 2015 Amy rated it it was amazing

A fascinating tale, well told, from a man I recall watching on PBS cooking shows when I was growing up. And who was, to my mind at least, the most famous person living in our town. I never ran into him at Stop and Shop (yet!) but I know people who have. His career trajectory seems improbable, a series of "eh, why not?" decisions that led him to cook for heads of state, and for the masses in America, after leaving home at 13 to apprentice in a restaurant.

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Jan 29, 2008 Denise rated it really liked it

Excellent autobiography about Jacques Pepin, renowned French chef. He was the son of a poor French family. Worked as an apprentice as a teenager. Moved to America, got his degree, got married, became famous. Pepin worked with Julia Child and many other celebrated chefs. Several of his recipes are included in the book.

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Jul 10, 2015 Georgina rated it liked it

Pepin is a true gent. A mensch. You can't help but admire him and all he has accomplished and overcome in his life. The beginning of the book is especially good but then he kind of skims over the surface of the rest of his life. I'm excited to try a few of the recipes. A good memoir but unsatisfying -- can't help but feel he's holding back.

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About Jacques Pépin

Jacques Pépin

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Jacques Pépin is a French chef, television personality, and author working in the United States.

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“Fortunately, I knew the cardinal rule of getting on with one’s fellow cooks. It applies in any kitchen and can be summed up in two short words: bust ass. Restaurant kitchens are the ultimate levelers. When you’re slammed and orders are starting to back up, you could care less about the color of the hands of the cook who is working next to you, as long as they are moving fast and effectively. Personal life, sexual preferences, accent, addictions, criminal record—none of them matter. Conversely, if he isn’t holding up his end, he could be your blood brother and you’d fire him in a second. That I had been chef at the “French White House” didn’t mean anything to these HoJo line chefs.” — 3 likes

“a couple of our buddies from Le Pavilion had opened restaurants in the Catskills around Shan-daken and Hunter Mountain and spoke highly of the area, so Jean-Claude and I, along with a few other friends, rented a place there to use as a weekend retreat.” — 1 likes

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