The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen (Thorndike Press Large Print Biography Series) - Hardcover

Pepin, Jacques

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0786256168 ISBN 13: 9780786256167

Publisher: Thorndike Pr, 2003

Synopsis

The popular television cooking show host traces his rise from an intimidated thirteen-year-old apprentice to a famous chef, recounting his work under prestigious teachers, his journey to America, and his experiences with contemporaries.

About this title

Review

The sparkling personality, sense of humor and charm familiar to Jacques Pépin's television audiences carries over to the page in the superstar chef's humbly titled memoir, The Apprentice.

A clever, mischievous and very likable boy, Pépin's earliest food memories are hungry ones from his childhood in war-torn France. After World War II, his first restaurant job was peeling potatoes for his mother at her restaurant, and he became an apprentice in a hotel kitchen at age 13. In this delightful tale he works hard, plays fair, is kind to others and good to his family, and his efforts take him to Paris, and then New York. Except for the terrible car accident that required him to reinvent himself as a teacher and television personality, he seems to have always been in the right place at the right time. He cooked for Prime Minister Gaillard and then General Charles de Gaulle, met Pierre Franey, Craig Claiborne and Julia Child, and turned down a job cooking for JFK to accept one with Howard Johnson. But just as entertaining and enjoyable to read about are his tender memories and thoughts about his relationships with his parents and brothers, and with his wife and daughter.

We all wish we could cook like Pépin(and every chapter ends with one of Pépin's favorite recipes), but this enchanting tale will make you wish you knew him. The clear, simple way he expresses himself and the honesty with which he tells his story will bring you to tears and make you laugh out loud. --Leora Y Bloom, Amazon.com

Review

"Prose as joyful and rich as the author's food." --Kirkus Reviews

." . . a delicious book . . . a joy." --The New York Times Book Review

"The real pleasure of this book is spending time with a thoughtful and sophisticated man, one whose memories and thoughts inevitably turn to food and cooking." --Epicurious

"A fun chronicle of a half century of progress in the American kitchen." --Saveur
"The kind of well-prepared prose you want to devour slowly." --The Oregonian

"A well written, funny, sad, informative and always enchanting account of an incredible career. . . . An instant classic." --Anthony Bourdain, author of Kitchen Confidential

"A feast." --People

"Pepin writes the way most chefs wish they could cook. . . . (The Apprentice) goes down like a feast . . . a worthy indulgence." --GQ

"An appetizing read." --The Oregonian

Edition details

• Publisher: Thorndike Pr
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0786256168
• ISBN 13: 9780786256167
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 488