By Icy Frantz
A few weeks ago, I had the incredible honor of speaking with a living legend.
And what would usually make me nervous and tongue tied was actually enlightening and fun.
I guess it boils down to this- world renowned Chef Jacques Pépin is as kind as he is famous.
And when I went over my notes from my hour-long conversation with Pépin and his son-in-law Rollie Wesen, Co-founder and President of the Jacques Pépin Foundation, these are the words, spoken in the most intoxicating French accent, that have remained with me
“Cooking is the greatest act of love.”
I thought about how they applied to my own life: about the early days of the pandemic – shaky times – when our family cooked together and then gathered around our kitchen table to enjoy a dinner.
Or the cakes that our daughter, the baker, has made for me and others to celebrate birthdays and milestones.
Or my good friend, who has achieved the art of creating the perfect chocolate chip cookie, and then delivers them at times of crisis to comfort…to love.
And this statement rang true.
But as Jacques and Rollie told me about their experiences, it became apparent that cooking is the main ingredient in not only their professional success, but – and perhaps more importantly – in how they have chosen to use their well-honed skills to lovingly impact the world in which we live.
The name Jacques Pépin is synonymous with culinary arts mastery. He started cooking at the young age of six in his mother’s restaurant in his childhood town of Bourg-en-Brasse, France and over the course of his career, has worked in countless prestigious restaurants – first in Paris, then in America. He authored over 30 cookbooks and was a longtime friend of the iconic Julia Child, and their 1999 PBS series Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home won a Daytime Emmy Award.
His work has earned him 24 James Beard Foundation Awards, five honorary doctoral degrees, the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 46th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, and, in 2004, the Légion d’Honneur, France’s highest order of merit.
So, when Rollie came to Jacques in 2016 with an idea, a way to make a real difference, the timing was perfect. Rollie was volunteering at a community kitchen in Rhode Island, where young adults were learning the important skills needed to work in professional kitchens and he was witnessing first-hand the transformative power of the culinary arts. Both Rollie and Jacques were experienced teachers, and it seemed like a natural next step to share their extraordinary talents with people who could benefit.
The Jacques Pépin Foundation was created to support the culinary training that was happening in community kitchens across our nation specifically for adults with barriers to employment such as incarceration, homelessness, substance abuse issues, low skill and education attainment, and lack of work history.
“It’s win-win-win,” offered Rollie about community kitchens and the work of the foundation.
“Individuals gain skills, which gives them access to jobs and healthcare, the ability to feed their families and a purpose in life. Society gains workers who were previously excluded in the workforce and now have skills to reenter the workforce. Food service – desperate for workers (there are an estimated one million vacancies in food service post-pandemic), now have skilled workers.”
One recent graduate from a culinary training program in Hartford, Connecticut supported by the foundation offered these words.
“The experience that I gained here besides cooking is confidence and just knowing that people don’t give up on you, especially if you don’t give up on yourself. I was jobless for a whole year and if it wasn’t for them (the program) I wouldn’t be where I am right now.” Currently fully employed he said the opportunity to learn from Pépin was “phenominal.”
In addition to Pépin’s in person teaching, the foundation supplies the community programs with curricular materials, equipment, and video instruction, and has granted gifts these last four years, with a total gift amount to date of one million dollars.
Like the rest of us, the foundation pivoted during the pandemic. No longer able to host big gala fundraising events, they utilized and leveraged their existing library of over 200 videos. They asked chefs, many of whom were hurting in the aftermath of the pandemic, to participate and they did so willingly and generously.
“Chefs work 10 to 12 hours a day, six days a week and then they use their one day off to give back to the many organizations that ask them for help.” commented Pépin.
And so, the foundation’s video library grew to include not only Jacques Pépin, but over 20 hours of celebrity chefs from José Andrés to Andrew Zimmerman and are available to all of the partnering community kitchens. And – lucky for us – they are now available to the public for a small donation to the foundation.
Through all of these efforts, the foundation has enriched lives and strengthened communities through the power of culinary education for all people.
On October 7th, Jacques Pépin will be honored for his lifetime of achievement at the Greenwich Wine and Food 10th Anniversary Celebrity Chef Gala (the grand finale of what promises to be a delicious week of celebration, highlighting local and national chefs, and showcasing innovation in the wine and food industries).
The proceeds of the week-long event will benefit two organizations – the Jacques Pépin Foundation and Wholesome Wave, founded by Chef Michel Nischan, the late Gus Schumacher and the late Michael Batterberry to address diet-related disease by helping low-income Americans buy and eat healthy fruits and vegetables.
Is cooking the greatest act of love?
When we consider the culinary masterpieces created by the hands of Jacques Pépin, or the lives that have been transformed by the work of his foundation and its gift of culinary education, it’s hard to dispute.
Or the magic of a community that comes together around a stove or at a table or over a bottle of wine.
Or in its purest form- no matter the level of culinary expertise-perhaps it’s the honor of simply providing nourishment and sustenance to all that is the greatest act of love.
For More Information-
The Greenwich Wine and Food — https://serendipitysocial.com/greenwich-wine-food/
Jacques Pépin Foundation – https://jp.foundation
The Wholesome Wave – https://www.wholesomewave.org
Icy Frantz
The Icing on the Cake at Icyfrantz.net
