A Brit on Jacques Pepin and Julia Chile

Coming to this argument from the angel of a Brit looking at the reputation of two chefs who if you ask most people on the street in the United Kingdom who do you think was the better as a teacher of cooking Julia child or Jacques Pepin , most would not know who you was talking about .

I know that Julia Chile was one of the grate televisions chefs in the United States and I have read one of her books once “Mastering the art of French cooking”. I know that she came to cooking late in her life in post war France and brought a style of cooking back home with her that was revelation. In fact I would go as far to say that this is whole unfair to ask any one to set apart to great cooks and chefs. But with out that question you can not have the debate.

When I was just a young man and very wet behind the ears and about to start on what has now been a career in cooking I cam across a book called “la technique” an illustrated guide to the fundamental techniques of cooking. It was by Jacques Pepin. I still have it today and any one who has asked me what do you need to know to be a chef I let them have the book to have a look at.

It starts with the most basic knife craft and then moves on in very simple words and pictures to explain every thing that you might need to know. From shell fish, vegetables poultry and meat even desserts and pastry it cover it all. The book covers almost every thing that I then went on to learn at the collage that I attended.

Then latter I came across a television series that was running on the BBC during the day time. It was in a funny slot that was normally full of old films or programs that you did not want to watch and he cam over as a very sincere and practical man who communicated very well. At a time when on British television the super chef was being borne and just about any body that could hold a knife and promote them selves and not the food was getting on our screens.

That and the fact that he was the personal chef for three French presidents. He must have been a super chef from the nations that gave us the word chef.

And like so many of his fellow country men who I have grown to admire he has also the added ingredients of being an extremely educated man as well. With a B.A. in philosophy and French literature, as well as amongst other things.

But as a testament to the man I will just hold up his book and will say that it has been a start to the foundation that I now earn my living at every day. So for me my vote goes to Mr Pepin.