Home Economics : 11/2 The Man, the Myth, the Legend

The first thing anyone ever said about this program was Jacques Pepin’s involvement. Tell someone that you were going to take the culinary lab and they would inevitably say something along the lines of, “oh, you get to work with Jacques!” Almost every week someone would drop his name while in class or in association with the gastronomy program. Now, I understand.

When I chose this class the stars must have aligned and smiled down on me. I knew that the lab would always be part of my Graduate degree but the timing was flexible. It just so happened that this semester could not have been more perfect. Not only was I able to have three almost full days with Jacques, I had the honor and the privilege to work for his 80^th Birthday Gala. This astonishing event took place in the art gallery in 808. 150 food and wine vendors showed up to feed over 600 guests who wanted to celebrate with Jacques.

We arrived early Monday morning to help prepare dishes for the big event. I was chosen to work pastry and busily got started on making 2 oz maple panna cottas. I have probably said it a million times but I LOVE pastry. It is so soothing and was a delight to start the big day in that amazing way. In an hour and a half we (myself and four other students) pumped out 400 panna cottas with relaxed ease. And then we started on the main event.

After a quick pizza lunch Jacques and his best friend John Claude arrived. Nervous would have been an understatement. I had no idea what to expect. We were drilled several times about how to act, what to do and what not to do. In the end it could not have been more lovely. Jacques and John Claude are delightful, hard of hearing, grandfatherly master chefs that swooped in and wanted nothing more than to create delicious food and enjoy our time together. Jacques started by making butter roses with just a pairing knife and a stick of butter. I kid you not. They are so beautiful. From there we spend a rather scattered afternoon making a few things for an event on Wednesday.

The evening finally rolled around and I was assigned to work with out pastry Chef the first half of the evening and then move to Chris Douglas’ station for the second half. Everyone, and I mean everyone, LOVED the panna cotta and it was fun to show off how much we, as lowly students, were able to accomplish and please. As the evening went on table after table started running out of food (including my second table of the night) but it all seemed fine because everyone was just so happy to be a part of the big event.