The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen
by Jacques Pepin

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Book Reviews of The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen

Book Review: Just excellent
Summary: 5 Stars

Summary of The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen

A wise and charming memoir from a man who quickly ascended the ranks of American cooks to become, according to Julia Child, "the best chef in America"

With sparkling wit, occasional humility, and a delightfully curated selection of recipes, Jacques Pépin tells the captivating story of his rise from a terrified thirteen-year-old toiling in an Old World French kitchen to an American superstar?he was one of the earliest pioneers of culinary television?who changed American tastes with his culinary wizardry and ad-libbed charm. The Apprentice begins in prewar France, with young Jacques cutting his teeth in his mother?s small restaurants. When he moves to Paris, we see tantalizing glimpses of Sartre and Genet, and in his role as Charles de Gaulle?s personal chef, Jacques witnesses history from a remarkable vantage point behind the swinging kitchen door. In America, he rejects an offer to be chef in the Kennedy White House, choosing instead to work at Howard Johnson?s, and then joins forces with fellow food lovers Julia Child, James Beard, and Craig Claiborne to make some history of his own. In the words of Anthony Bourdain, it's an instant classic.

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 Pepin (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

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