This April, Cherry Bombe Magazine hosted The Julia Jubilee, a virtual conference that brought the legacy of Julia Child to life with talks, panels, and demos, proudly sponsored by Le Creuset. One of the most anticipated events featured Jacques Pépin, the legendary French chef and Julia’s longtime TV co-star, in conversation with his mentee, friend and fan, Chef Angie Mar. Here, Cherry Bombe founder Kerry Diamond reflects on the chat between the two as our special blog guest editor.
When the Cherry Bombe team started talking about a conference that would celebrate the life of Julia Child, one of the most beloved culinary personalities ever, we knew there was one person we had to include: Jacques Pépin. He and Julia were friends and colleagues for five decades and are inextricably linked in the minds of those who watched their cooking shows on the education-focused Public Broadcasting Service, better known as PBS. Their popular series, Julia & Jacques Cooking at Home, spanned 22 episodes, more than 85 recipes, and hours of advice, and was turned into a bestselling cookbook. It also garnered them an Emmy Award and countless fans.
While Julia was known as a French chef, thanks to the title of her original TV show, she was neither French nor technically a chef. (The name was chosen because The French Chef fit neatly on one line in TV Guide, an indispensable publication before the days of Google.) Jacques, meanwhile, was the real deal. Born in 1935 near Lyon, France, to a restaurant family, he started apprenticing at the age of 13 and wound up working as a private chef for his country’s war hero and president, Charles de Gaulle. Jacques then made his way to America and started the second phase of a lengthy career he never could have imagined, one that took him from the influential Le Pavillon in New York to the Howard Johnson roadside restaurant chain to TV screens across the country. He’s authored more than 30 books and been honored with everything from James Beard Awards to a Légion d’honneur, France’s highest recognition.
"You can always learn when you are in the kitchen if you open your eyes."
Jacques Pépin
The Jacques Pépin Foundation
The Cherry Bombe team knew the perfect person to interview Jacques would be Angie Mar, the chef and owner of the eagerly awaited Les Trois Chevaux restaurant in New York. Unlike Jacques with his teen apprenticeship, Angie was a late bloomer who became a chef after working in real estate. But like Jacques, Angie respects technique and tradition and knows when to break the rules, as evidenced by the Oxtail Bourguignon recipe she contributed to the Jacques Pépin Foundation video cookbook. Jacques, his daughter Claudine, and his son-in-law Rollie Wesen founded the organization to provide culinary education to those facing employment barriers. (If you become a member of Jacques’ foundation, you’ll receive the video book as one of the perks.)
Jacques and Angie’s conversation took place on Zoom, with Jacques in his Connecticut kitchen, spotless pots and pans hanging on the wall behind him and a glass of white wine within reach, and Angie in the brand new kitchen space for Les Trois Chevaux. Jacques reminisced about his move to America; his $25-a-month apartment; and his first encounter with a not-yet-famous Julia Child. “When I met Julia, no one had ever heard of her,” he recalled. The two bonded over a similar world view, Julia’s joie de vivre, and her fluent French. “Julia loved to eat, loved to drink, loved to have a good time.”
Angie also asked about Jacques’ foundation and his enthusiasm for the role that has defined him for decades: that of teacher. “You can always learn when you are in the kitchen if you open your eyes,” he said. “That's the beauty of what we do.”
Following their chat, Angie demonstrated how to make Oxtail Bourguignon, her riff on the classic Burgundian stew that Jacques and Julia have taught countless people how to make over the years. Angie prepared everything in her Le Creuset Dutch ovens and gave everyone a glimpse of the brand new Le Creuset color, Artichaut. It’s a dreamy vibrant green that perfectly captures the spirit of spring, friendship, and French cuisine.
