Jacques Pepin and Julia Childs

The game of Petanque attracts people from all social and cultural levels of society. However there are two particular high profile groups that seem to have a special affinity to this century old French ballgame: Actors and Chefs.

The explanation for this phenomenon turns out to be quite simple: They have short spurs of idle time on their hands between performances. Anyone who has ever worked a restaurant kitchen knows the hectic pace of lunch time, usually followed by a lull of about an hour or so. In France this break is often filled by a relaxed but highly competitive game of Petanque. Especially in the South of France, most of the kitchen staff have their own set of balls (boules) and when the work pace slacks, the game begins.

The same goes for actors in between scenes. Some go and read a book or rest in their trailer, yet others start a game of Petanque. No change of clothes or shoes required. No special equipment needed, just a set of metal balls and a small piece of gravel sand land to use as a court. A 12 x 36 ft. area will do great.

When Petanque America earlier this year introduced the game to Amelia Island we had no clue of the attraction and popularity of the game until invitations for the first Amelia Island Petanque America Open went out and the registrations started flooding in. From Canada and Europe and all over the US, teams signed up to compete for the Cash Purse, but even more to measure their talent and skills with fellow players in the beautiful waterfront setting in Fernandina Beach.

Among the many celebrities and champions that have registered three remarkable, world famous celebrity chefs popped up, Jacques Pépin famous for his cooking shows with Julia Child and some 26 popular cook books; Michel Nishan who partnered with Paul Newman in the world famous Dressing Room restaurant in New England and Jean Banchet who operated “le Francais” in Wheeling, Illinois; notably the best French restaurant in the USA for decades until it closed in 2007.

Jacques Pepin

Today I’m doing a little high light on Jacques Pepin who looks back at one of the most remarkable chef careers in history.

Born in 1935 in the Rhone-Alps area of France, Pépin started cooking in his parent’s restaurant at age twelve. Before he doubled that age he already had worked as chef for Charles de Gaulle, France’s strongman prime minister in the late 1950’s, and by 1959 he emigrated to the US and worked with Pierre Franey at Le Pavillon in Manhattan. Turning down an offer from the Kennedy Whitehouse, he showed a different set of interests when he and Franey were hired by hospitality giant Howard Johnson’s to oversee food development. Franey and Pépin developed recipes for Howard Johnson’s signature dishes that could be flash-frozen and delivered across the country, guaranteeing a consistent product. They signed up for a 10 year tour-of-duty with the Howard Johnson’s hotel and restaurant chain.

Demonstrating interests beyond cooking, Pépin earned a bachelor’s degree from the Columbia University School of General Studies in 1970, followed by a Master of Arts in 18th Century French poetry from Columbia in 1972. In the years that followed, he became a prolific writer of cook books and techniques and was featured in several highly acclaimed TV shows.

TV Shows and Books

His celebrated La Technique is used to this day as a textbook for teaching the fundamentals of French cuisine. The success of La Technique prompted him to launch a televised version of the book, resulting in an acclaimed 1997 PBS series, The Complete Pépin. Recently relaunched on PBS ten years after its initial run, the series included a new introduction by Pépin where he stressed that now more than ever, the secret to being a successful chef and not a mere line cook, lies in knowing and using the proper technique. In 1999 he co-starred with America’s favorite Cook Julia Child in the PBS series “Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home“, followed by a cooking series with his daughter Claudine. Never tiring of the educational aspects of cooking, his show Jacques Pépin: Fast Food My Way (based on his 2004 book of the same name) ran on PBS, and Jacques Pépin: More Fast Food My Way is currently being broadcast on PBS’ Create Channel.

Book Signing on Amelia Island

Amelia Island Pétanque America Open Nov 14-15

Jacques has graciously offered to do a Book Signing during the Pétanque America Tournament. Today, Pépin serves as Dean of Special Programs at the French Culinary Institute, part of the new International Culinary Center, in New York City. He is also an active contributor to the Gastronomy department at Boston University, where he teaches an online class on the cuisine and culture of France along with professor Kyri Claflin of Boston University’s history department. Pépin also writes a quarterly column for Food and Wine and offers an amateur class each semester based on varied culinary topics.

Awards and honors

In addition to the Daytime Emmy Award he won with Julia Child, Pépin has received three of the French government’s highest honors. He is a Chevalier de L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (1997) and a Chevalier de L’Ordre du Mérite Agricole (1992) and in October 2004, he received France’s ultimate civilian recognition, the Légion d’honneur. I could only wish we could have had the honor of having Jacques Pépin here during last week’s Taste of Amelia event.

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