New Jacques Pépin series to look forward to

[buttertart]

Apparently M. Pépin is starting to shoot a new series at KQED in SF..."The Essential Pépin". Can't wait!

[buttertart]

Anyone see it? Was supposed to be on WNET 13 and WLIW 21 yesterday, I have it on DVR.

[EM23]

It will be on WLIW 13 in NYC and environs at 3:30 today - take a walk on a beautiful day vs. a half hour with Jacques???

[bushwickgirl]

Drat, missed it, but WLIW in NYC is channel 21. I'm sure it'll be a repeat.

[EM23]

Sorry if I confused you. It was on PBS/ Ch. 13 today. I missed it as well - my dog wanted to play outside.
And it was on WLIW 21 yesterday around noon - I missed that one too but, you are right Girl, sure to be repeated.

[paulj]

Look for online videos at the San Francisco PBS website.

[paulj]

http://blogs.kqed.org/essentialpepin/...
behind the scenes photos
Looks like there's a crew of about a dozen.

[buttertart]

Oh ho ho here we go, on WNET 13 this coming Saturday at 12 noon. DVR is already set.

[bushwickgirl]

Thanks for the update, I'm so excited!

[toonie]

I am currently reading Jacque's autobiography, The Apprentice. Pepin taught private classes for a while and certain questions came up frequently. On the shows that he did with his daughter the idea was that she would ask questions that had come up frequently but KQED didn't want her to do any of the actual cooking.

[junescook]

Jacques and Goria (and their little dog Paco) live hear in CT, either Branford or Guilford. Their daughter Claudine and at least one child the last time he mentioned, lives in Seattle. He is as genuine in person as he is in any of his his books or his programs. They are, of course quite proud of her.

[buttertart]

Love that man.

[buttertart]

Saw a show aired last weekend that seemed to be a new "More Fast Food my Way" - with Claudine - poached salmon, peas and carrots, graham cracker dessert. Think this must be the new one, Claudine seemed older and less maladroit. The recipes didn't float my boat but it's a nice show.

[greygarious]

That's not a new one.

[buttertart]

I don't remember Claudine in those though.

[greygarious]

She was in several of them - they talked about her daughter, and cooking at high elevation.

[buttertart]

Guess local PBS didn't show those episodes until now, I saw most of them about 5 times each.

[buttertart]

M. Pépin has finished taping and is on his way home, according to FB. Claudine was mentioned in several spots, not sure if this will feature her or if she's "support staff".

[cassoulady]

I love Jacques Pepin!! I think he really takes restaurant cooking and brings it to the home chef and encourages improvising. I found his Fast Food shows very good and packed with ideas.

[buttertart]

I watched each of those shows as many times as it was on. Channel 21 (NY) has an odd habit of repeating shows within series for no discernable reason.

[Shrinkrap]

Yeah! I feel even BETTER about my recent membership renewal!

[Withnail42]

That's some very good news indeed!! Already looking forward to it!

[Jay2512]

I look forward to it, too. However, I'm hoping it won't be a rehash of the cooking technique series he made years ago. Pepin has a tendency to do things the same way over and over, e.g. lion's tooth croutons, swan cream puffs, decorating the top of liver pate with pieces of scallion and carrot arranged into a tulip plant, the sugar cage.

Sometimes, that's good; sometimes not so much.

[Claudette]

Yes, Jacque's very old-fashioned, but since I see my mom's clothes back in fashion as "Vintage" now, I think his "vintage" cooking will outlast the molecular stuff being done nowadays (even though I absolutely adore Jose Andres' cooking).

[buttertart]

Mention was made of one of the shows airing in December, so be on the lookout.

[bon oeuf]

Pepin is a favorite of mine. I'm very happy to hear this!

[John E.]

I agree, please no Claudine on this show.

[paulj]

You are out of luck
http://blogs.kqed.org/essentialpepin/...
We get a 3 for 1 on this episode - 3 generations

"What does your dad do again, I forgot"
"He's a cook..."
"He's a chef!"
"He works at a restaurant"

[John E.]

As much as I respect Pepin and have enjoyed his past television cooking shows, if his daughter is going to be on every or even many episodes (not to mention his grand-daughter), I'll have to miss out on this program.

[Breezychow]

I fully agree. Love Mr. Pepin, but really can't stand the episodes with his daughter "assisting". But I feel that way with all the shows where family members are brought on - "Mad Hungry" Lucinda Scala Quinn; Rick Bayless; Ina Garten, etc., etc. It just brings a false cutesiness to the shows that, for me, is like fingernails on a blackboard. The minute I see a family member stumble into the kitchen, I change the channel.

[paulj]

Does an assistant or sidekick ever work on a cooking show, regardless of whether they are relatives or not? Or does it spoil the illusion that the chef is giving you a one-on-one class?

Are relatives especially bad in this role because they spoil the illusion that the chef is professional, as opposed to being father or mother? What about Ming's parents?

How about Joanne Weir's students? I haven't watched one of her CreateTV 'cooking classes' in full, but can't place why I am not more interested.

[paulj]

I dare you to go to that kqed page and make that comment for all his fans (maybe even Jacques) to see! :)

[John E.]

I realize your post was written in jest, but it would never occur to me to make a special effort to do something like that.

[greygarious]

The episode including that exchange between Jacques and his little granddaughter was on today. IMO, it was completely charming. She's adorable, clearly happy to be there, and actually eager to help Grandpere make dessert. What a contrast to the Bastianich kids, who seem uncomfortable on camera and uninterested in helping prepare (or eat) their prodding nonna's food.

[buttertart]

PS for more scoop M. Pépin now has a Facebook presence (handled by his daughter and the KQED people apparently).

[cgarner]

The first thing I am going to do when I get home is friend request him
(hmmm wondering what Jaques tweets would look like if he had a twitter account?)
"Five in the afternoon, when I start cooking, is when we start drinking wine. We probably drink too much of it."
(stolen from Gourmet Magazine 2009 interview w/ Jacques)

[buttertart]

You just have to "like" to get the FB feed.

[roxlet]

Oh, that daughter though! Those were the worst Jacques shows ever. How could anyone live their entire life with a genius and act so dim. I hope it was an act, but it was hard to take! Talk about no rapport with the camera!

[cgarner]

@roxlet, I agree... I loved the series with Jacques and Julia. I think she frustrated the heck out of him sometimes but he was always so calm cool and collected... I used to laugh my a$$ off watching.

[wattacetti]

Did you ever read what KQED required of Claudine? It was an act for both series.

[roxlet]

If it WAS an act, then I hope she has chosen another career!

[greygarious]

I always liked her, and though (as presented, anyway) she started out clueless, she learned a lot. I think that they came off as having a good relationship. On the contrary, I don't think it's smooth sailing between Lidia and her daughter, who does not appear to be interested in cooking, but relies on Mama for both her own paycheck and her husband's. At least she's not arrogant like her brother.

I wish PBS would rebroadcast some of M. Pepin's other shows, particularly the older (pre-Julia) series. They've got the Create channel now, so they need 12 shows per day (assuming they stick with the repeating 6-hr blocks), yet instead of using more of their vault content they keep running through the same Lidia/Ming/ATKs over and over.

[buttertart]

That Techniques bare-bones series was killer.

[cgarner]

Totally off subject, but I have to say that Claudine at Very least was interested and yes, they did have a very good rapport. That daughter of Lidia’s always seems to have a “faccia brutta” look on her face and the rapport in front of the camera is not easy like it is with Claudia and Jacques.

I watched an episode once where Lidia actually took something out of Tanya’s hand that she was trying to do (miserably failing) I wish I could remember exactly what it was, my husband and I both chuckled with “did you see that?” incredulity.

[buttertart]

Awful thought: Claudine, Tanya, and Lainie (Bayless) teaming up for a show! ;-)
Of the three I think Tanya is the least sympa.

[ChefGirl412]

Why do these cooking show hosts cook with their families; it never seems very comfortable???
And YES, Lidia's "wine expert" son is so arrogant!

[buttertart]

I'm sure it was (Claudine that is). She's something high-powered in the wine world, I think. The worst of those was the one where Mrs P appeared and looked like a deer in the headlights in front of the cameras.

[dave_c]

Very nice!

His "Fast Food My Way" has been so-so for me, but in general I enjoy Jacques Pepin. Another plus, he packs a lot of tips and tricks into his show. He's a great teacher. A natural.

[LindaWhit]

Superb! Any idea what station will carry it - PBS, I hope?

[buttertart]

I reckon - KQED is the San Francisco PBS station.

[greygarious]

Linda, it debuted today at noon on WGBH 2 in Boston.

[LindaWhit]

Well, I was about to head to my nap to try and rid myself of a sinus headache, so I didn't get to see it. :-( I'm going to have to set the DVR to record it - thanks for the heads-up, greyg!

[greygarious]

Episodes can be watched online here: http://blogs.kqed.org/essentialpepin/

[LindaWhit]

Awww, I love youse guys! Thanks, greyg!

ETA: So wait - this show has been on for 10 episodes already? Damn - why do they wait so long to get it to the East Coast channels?

[buttertart]

Because the Left coast is the Best coast ;-)

[LindaWhit]

But our sports teams win more championships. :-P

And even more important - WE had Julia Child first. So there!

[buttertart]

Whaaaaatevs. ;-) Both coasts got good things going on. And as it is said, wherever you go, there you are.

[bread]

Wow. You made my day. He is a glorious cook and so brilliant. Plus, he seems like such a charming guy. His book was great.

[cgarner]

I will be anxiously awaiting for this series to air. I have been in love with Jacques (In my head, we're on a first name basis with one another) since I was a child. He just exudes everything that is good about French cooking, French food and French Men too!

[buttertart]

He is very charming indeed, as well as being a heck of a cook! I learn something from him in each show.

[nvcook]

me to, except I call him Jack, like Julia did :>D