206: Jacques Pépin, Chef, Author, & Television Personality ( Madison, CT)

The work of Jacques Pépin transcends a single title. He is at once chef, teacher, author, and television personality, but with 31 books and more than 70 years in the kitchen, his unique combination of warm personality and professional skills has impacted the world of food like few others. He's still working and cooking every day, has a new cookbook, Quick & Simple, and during the pandemic so far he's produced almost daily videos that have provided grounding comfort to many of us seeking solace in the kitchen. There's a video book too that includes 45 recipe videos from other celebrity chefs as a membership gift to the Jacques Pépin Foundation. That organization supports free life skills and culinary training through community kitchens all across the country, training not only for jobs, but for those experiencing food insecurity, perhaps for the first time. In the South, there are community kitchens supported by the foundation in North Carolina, Florida, Louisiana, and Maryland, and the crises of 2020 means there's more need for this support than ever.