Jacques Pépin: The Art of Craft

When Jacques Pépin's legacy comes up, it's oftentimes in reference to his seminal work, "La Téchnique," and his extraordinary attention to detail. Here, chef and restaurateur José Andrés talks about his first encounter with Jacques Pépin at one of his cooking demonstrations.

Iconic chef and teacher Jacques Pépin shares his Inspiring Woman - his mother. He also talks about the many women in his family who worked as chefs and ran restaurants. Share your story at pbs.org/InspiringWoman or using #InspiringWomanPBS.

Gloria shares the story of how she met Jacques, pretending to be a novice and taking skiing lessons from him.

Jacques Pépin truly mastered the art of craft, taking a technique like cleaning a chicken or de-boning a fish to new heights. Today, chefs are still inspired by the elegance in his work and movement.

When Rollie Wesen, a well-respected chef in his own right, fell in love with Claudine Pépin, he said his first goal was to win over the incomparable Jacques Pépin by being a good husband, not a great chef.

In 1976, Jacques Pépin published a groundbreaking new book: a cookbook without recipes. "La Technique" illustrated each moment where your hands interacted with food - teaching the foundations of cooking instead of recipes.

Jacques Pépin is known as a kitchen supernova, a working whirlwind of creative energy even at 80 years old, but his surprising journey began in the countryside of wartime France, where his family’s tradition of entrepreneurial women running homegrown restaurants pushed young Jacques into an early culinary career.