Jacques Pepin Is The Man

I mentioned beforehand of my mother's interest in cooking shows, and while as a kid I would beg her to put on something more entertaining, I have now found myself intrigued. For instance, I have the cooks I love and the cooks I hate (the latter outnumbers the former). And my favorite chef is Jacques Pepin.

His recent shows are entitled "Fast Food My Way" and "More Fast Food My Way" (plenty of videos are available on YouTube) and they demonstrate that which is often lacking in cooking shows: technique and reality.

When he slices an onion, I watch with fascination. Absolute perfection. It's all about the flick of the wrist (acquired from constant practice), as well as keeping his knives sharp, a necessity which I have never heard. 

If a side of his pie breaks open, he just pats it back together again. Other chefs have these unrealistically perfect dishes that never leak or fall or break. Mr. Pepin loathes waste after his wartime years in France, and doesn't throw away anything, not even apple peel. The way some chefs just cut off one end of a vegetable and toss the rest away is abhorrent to me. If my grandparents went through the war, I can be careful with baltashchis.

Mr. Pepin emphasizes technique, such as what is the best way to fry this or chop that or cook this or bake that, which transcends one-time recipes to cooking technique. 

I barely cook at this point (I live at home with a fabulous cook), but I still find myself scribbling down his tips. He's on at various times on WLIW.

Just watch the man make an omelet. It'll change everything you know. 

This episode in entitled "The Egg First!"