Jacques Pépin Videos: On Cooking and Painting
Featured Video: “The Artistry of Jacques Pépin
“I’ve been painting for over half a century and cooking for over 70 years.”
“I’m a professional cook and an amateur painter. You know, the chef can taste and perceive a dish even before making it and the painter, I think, can visualize shape and color that often the average person doesn’t see.”
Video: “The History of Jacques’ Hand-Painted MENUS”
“I’ve been married 54 years and many, many years ago, we had a little house in the Catskill Mountains. One of the things we started doing is we invited friends over and once we cooked, we started recording the menus.”
Video: “Painting Makes Me Happy”
Video: “Getting Started with a Painting”
“It’s always difficult for me to start a painting. Like it is difficult for me to write an article or a book. Sometimes, I stop right in the middle of it and go on with the introduction or the end. A little bit of something in the painting–I never know exactly where I’m going.”
Video: “The Ingredients”
“You know I’m a cook by trade and, of course, I’m a better cook than I am a painter. But there are similarities in it. Of course when you cook something, you eat it, it disappears and all you have left are memories. The painting stays there forever.”
Video: “Finishing”
“Well, in painting, it’s really automatic. I don’t really know exactly what it is. And, very often, I will try to analyze it, especially in the area of more abstract painting. And, at some point, I say there is nothing more I can do.”
Video: “Jacques Visits the Mauviel Copper Factory”
Nestled in the small village of Villedieu-les-Poêles in Normandy, France—a place aptly known as the “City of Copper”—the Mauviel 1830 factory has been the gold standard for culinary craftsmanship for nearly two centuries. Stepping into the workshop feels like a bridge between eras; while they utilize modern precision, much of the process still relies on the rhythmic hammering and hand-polishing of skilled artisans.
