Jacques Pepin: Consumers May Pay Price Of Chefs' Fame

(Associated Press) NEW YORK -- What price fame? Perhaps a raw deal on your meal, says Jacques Pepin.

The longtime dean of French cooking in the U.S. worries that so many up-and-coming chefs focus so much on book deals and television appearances they may lose sight of their real job.

"It's someone who is totally egocentric," Pepin said of chefs who chase fame. "And in that sense it does affect the customer because that person is not taking care of the customer. He doesn't give that customer his due in terms of time and effort for the money that the customer pays."

Pepin, who has starred in numerous public television cooking shows, said that when he speaks to culinary students today, nearly half aspire to write books or appear on TV. Pepin was being honored for his work in food during a tribute dinner at the New York Wine and Food Festival.

He said the culinary world's focus on fame marks a shift in how new chefs view their role.

"The idea of old was to conform yourself to a style of cooking, it was not to create a style of cooking," Pepin said during an interview before Saturday's dinner. "Now the chef is so much into `I want to sign that dish and say I am the one who made that dish.'"

Comments

[Mary Schulte]

06:45 PM on 10/13/2011

right on

[mburgh]

08:13 AM on 10/11/2011

Jacques Pepin has the honor of being someone who is always correct in his conclusions.

[Carrie Dowell McCully]

12:15 PM on 10/04/2011

When Chef Pepin speaks the upstarts should listen. "The idea of old was to conform yourself to a style of cooking, it was not to create a style of cooking,"

New chefs can not even begin to create something new and lasting if they don't have basic technique and good technique takes practice and a willingness to learn. Unfortunately, 50% of the resumes I see are focused on telling me that they have a reel, an agent or just lost on "CHOPPED". Those are not the chefs I usually place or the chefs I look for when I am scouting for Chef Hunter.

[capsaicin]

07:15 PM on 10/03/2011

Jacques Pepin = The Man. Watching him cook is witnessing a maestro at work -- it really gives you a sense of what cooking is like when it has become natural and instinctive. Do yourself a favor and check out his many videos that are online for free!

http://www.kqed.org/food/jacquespepin/
http://www.kqed.org/w/morefastfoodmyway/
http://www.kqed.org/w/jpfastfood/recipes.html
http://blogs.kqed.org/essentialpepin/category/episodes/

As for celebrity chefs, I am sure there are a few good ones, but it's pretty clear that in most cases, sadly, substance is sacrificed for glam.

[dauphin]

02:55 PM on 10/03/2011

This is a topic that is hot on Huff Po at the moment. Chef's Pepin, Adria and Conant have now had their say and there is some discussion over on the Alto Brown article too. So, which of the following is correct? Does TV affect a chef's perspective and growth when it comes to their restaurant or is it their customer base and reviews? Are newly trained chefs influenced by the fleeting fame of TV and book deals that they may end up pursuing instead of being a restaurant chef first? Does the Avant Garde play it's role in culinary daring as it does with the music, fashion and art worlds so that it slowly integrated into everyday life at some point?

I think that when you start out with the drive to become just famous for fame's sake that artistry will be lacking. If you start off doing what you love and then build that into a career that you fully enjoy, then fame will be attained and your artistry will remain intact.

[Food Review 101]

12:34 PM on 10/03/2011

http://www.foodreview101.com/?p=3093 thinks next generations chefs will do just fine

[EatMeSF]

05:37 PM on 10/03/2011

how does a link with a review of bean chips help anyone....