0:00:06.220,0:00:08.288
(Jacques) Good morning!

0:00:08.478,0:00:10.452
Good morning, everybody!

0:00:10.452,0:00:11.699
(Audience) Good morning!

0:00:11.699,0:00:14.547
Claudine and I are delighted [br]to be with you this morning

0:00:14.547,0:00:16.348
to be the first ones.

0:00:17.350,0:00:22.007
I left home when I was 13[br]to go to apprenticeship,

0:00:22.939,0:00:24.674
that was in 1949.

0:00:26.278,0:00:30.172
Actually, home was a restaurant[br]where my mother was the chef,

0:00:31.132,0:00:33.189
I was already in that business.

0:00:33.189,0:00:37.839
In fact, there was 12 restaurants[br]through the years in my family

0:00:38.238,0:00:40.399
and 12 of them owned by women,

0:00:40.539,0:00:44.067
I'm the first male to enter [br]that business in my family.

0:00:45.467,0:00:49.175
I went into apprenticeship from Lyon,[br]where my mother had her little restaurant

0:00:49.175,0:00:52.740
to Bourg-en-Bresse, where [br]I was born a few miles away.

0:00:53.741,0:00:57.078
Prior to that, when we were [br]about 8-9 years old,

0:00:57.078,0:00:58.798
my mother had that little restaurant

0:00:58.798,0:01:02.209
so, my brother and I, [br]before going to school,

0:01:02.209,0:01:04.759
walked with my mother to the market

0:01:04.759,0:01:08.507
- the St. Antoine market[br]along the Saône river -

0:01:09.268,0:01:14.370
and she would walk the market one way, [br]about 1/2 a mile, and buy on her way back.

0:01:14.942,0:01:17.918
Buying a case of mushrooms [br]which were getting dark

0:01:17.918,0:01:20.404
maybe for a third of the price or less.

0:01:21.079,0:01:24.630
We carried, of course,[br]we didn't have a car at the time.

0:01:24.630,0:01:28.587
She'd get home and start doing [br]her vegetables, peeling for the day.

0:01:29.779,0:01:33.171
She did not have [br]a refrigerator at that time.

0:01:33.300,0:01:37.427
She had an ice box, that is[br]a block of ice into a little cabinet,

0:01:37.728,0:01:41.504
so she'd have chicken of the day, meat,

0:01:41.921,0:01:48.127
fish, usually, whiting or mackerel [br]or skate - inexpensive fish -

0:01:48.659,0:01:51.679
and that she has to use it that day.

0:01:51.679,0:01:55.473
And again, the day after, [br]we start all over again.

0:01:55.878,0:01:58.893
Everything was organic, [br]everything was local.

0:01:59.238,0:02:01.990
The word organic did not really exist --

0:02:02.098,0:02:06.368
well, since chemical fertilizers [br]did not exist either,

0:02:06.368,0:02:09.958
or fungicides, insecticides, pesticides,[br]all that stuff did not exist,

0:02:09.958,0:02:14.594
so everything was, you know, local and --

0:02:14.924,0:02:17.261
(Claudine) Organic.[br](Jacques) Organic, that's it.

0:02:17.261,0:02:22.157
So, I went into apprenticeship, [br]I was 13 years old and, at that time,

0:02:23.380,0:02:27.245
it was very structured,[br]well, still is to certain extend,

0:02:28.038,0:02:30.669
you got to be there on time,[br]you got to be clean,

0:02:30.669,0:02:32.638
you have to be willing,

0:02:32.638,0:02:36.532
it's discipline, it's structure,[br]that's the way a kitchen can work.

0:02:37.029,0:02:39.819
We learn through a type of osmosis.

0:02:39.819,0:02:45.226
The chef never really explained [br]anything, he'd just say, "Do that".

0:02:45.509,0:02:49.129
And if you say, "Why?", and he'd say, [br]"Because I just told you".

0:02:49.129,0:02:51.266
That was about the end[br]of the apprenticeship.

0:02:51.948,0:02:55.958
Probably, just as good for[br]someone who's 13-14 years old.

0:02:57.268,0:03:02.468
So, we worked, repeating, and repeating,[br]and repeating those techniques ad nauseam;

0:03:03.168,0:03:06.250
we were not allowed[br]to go to the stove for a year.

0:03:06.638,0:03:09.851
So, during that year,[br]I did pluck a lot of chicken,

0:03:09.854,0:03:14.439
eviscerated a lot of chicken, [br]scaled fish, chopped parsley,

0:03:14.439,0:03:17.857
all of that type of things,[br]and then, the chef called me --

0:03:17.857,0:03:20.049
My name was "you" at the time,

0:03:20.049,0:03:24.740
then by the time I went to the stove,[br]they called me Jacques, so I got the name.

0:03:26.240,0:03:28.268
So, he said, "You start tomorrow".

0:03:28.818,0:03:31.648
"I start tomorrow?",[br]I didn't know how to do it;

0:03:31.648,0:03:33.889
I went to the stove[br]and I knew how to do it.

0:03:33.889,0:03:38.549
There was that type of osmosis,[br]things that you show, that you mentor.

0:03:38.549,0:03:43.083
I've got a book called, "La technique",[br]that I published in 1975,

0:03:43.083,0:03:44.590
so it's 40-year old,

0:03:45.131,0:03:48.540
and I don't cook[br]the way I did 40 years ago.

0:03:48.540,0:03:51.906
But the way I did an egg white, [br]or sharpen a knife,

0:03:52.735,0:03:55.284
or bone out a chicken, [br]to give you a sense;

0:03:55.284,0:03:58.707
it is that kind of permanence,[br]that kind of continuity,

0:03:58.707,0:04:00.797
that, you learn in the kitchen;

0:04:00.797,0:04:03.986
to be first a craftsman.

0:04:04.299,0:04:11.109
And it's very difficult, [br]very often, to explain in words

0:04:11.109,0:04:13.031
something that you can show --

0:04:14.850,0:04:16.939
It's easier to show --

0:04:21.339,0:04:23.419
than to explain

0:04:24.913,0:04:26.388
in words.

0:04:30.320,0:04:32.547
You can do that to chocolate as well.

0:04:32.547,0:04:34.972
You'd do that at exactly [br]the right temperature.

0:04:36.109,0:04:37.620
And we used to

0:04:38.670,0:04:41.103
put the butter in [br]a little container, that on top,

0:04:41.790,0:04:43.698
and now you can charge 20 bucks for it.

0:04:43.698,0:04:46.298
(Laughter)

0:04:47.258,0:04:51.802
Put that in water, that's cold, [br]so we could do whatever.

0:04:51.802,0:04:54.270
(Applause)

0:04:54.270,0:04:55.430
Thank you, Titine.

0:04:55.430,0:04:58.174
For me, first you have to be a craftsman.

0:04:58.499,0:05:02.838
You have to be a craftsman, and is[br]that repeat, and repeat, and repeat,

0:05:02.838,0:05:05.368
that is very important.

0:05:06.598,0:05:08.036
Just like

0:05:08.140,0:05:13.579
you can spend a year, two years, [br]in a studio in art school

0:05:13.579,0:05:18.041
and learn the law of perspective,[br]it is perfectly fine,

0:05:18.041,0:05:20.848
and you learn how to mix [br]yellow and blue to make green,

0:05:20.848,0:05:24.238
you know what to do with your thumb, [br]with your spatula, with the brush;

0:05:24.238,0:05:27.938
then you can come out and [br]do one painting after another.

0:05:27.938,0:05:30.480
Does that make you a chef? Not really.

0:05:30.480,0:05:35.759
But you're by then, a good craftsman,[br]and that's very important.

0:05:35.759,0:05:38.349
You have, first, to know your trade,

0:05:38.349,0:05:40.061
whether you are

0:05:41.554,0:05:45.180
a shoemaker, or a cabinet maker[br]- like my father -

0:05:45.599,0:05:47.871
first, you know your trade.

0:05:47.871,0:05:53.490
So, those things that we boned out

0:05:54.629,0:05:57.358
I learned, as I said, as a child.

0:06:01.728,0:06:04.029
And then, I learned this from --

0:06:04.239,0:06:06.760
I don't remember where I learn that but --

0:06:07.629,0:06:10.198
when you learn something [br]you learn it a certain way

0:06:10.198,0:06:13.189
and after a while, you don't remember [br]where it comes from,

0:06:13.189,0:06:16.357
and you do it your own way, eventually.

0:06:16.771,0:06:21.349
To do a type of lollipop [br]like that, as we used to --

0:06:23.488,0:06:29.285
So, those techniques, as I said,[br]first make you a craftsman,

0:06:29.688,0:06:33.128
and if you are a good craftsman,[br]then you can run a restaurant.

0:06:34.898,0:06:37.893
There are about 20,000 restaurants in NY

0:06:38.912,0:06:45.054
and 100 are well known, maybe 200, [br]maybe 300, maybe 400 even,

0:06:45.054,0:06:51.468
but what happen to the 19,500[br]is that they are run by artisans,

0:06:51.848,0:06:56.177
people who know how to work properly,

0:06:58.037,0:07:04.221
and this is the only way if you become,[br]in my opinion, a good craftsman,

0:07:04.381,0:07:08.221
if you have that type of knowledge,[br]then you can express yourself.

0:07:10.520,0:07:11.739
This is half of yourself,

0:07:12.739,0:07:15.308
the other half has to do with talent.

0:07:15.378,0:07:17.036
If you have talent --

0:07:17.106,0:07:18.788
If you happen to have talent,

0:07:18.958,0:07:22.341
by this I mean, if you have taste,

0:07:22.341,0:07:26.417
if you have a bit of a vision,

0:07:26.417,0:07:30.539
if you have a little bit of creativity,

0:07:30.539,0:07:31.980
then you can express yourself,

0:07:31.980,0:07:35.556
you now have the means in your hands[br]to express yourself,

0:07:37.069,0:07:39.696
if you've gone through those techniques.

0:07:40.388,0:07:44.020
You have to repeat [br]those techniques, as I said,

0:07:44.020,0:07:47.563
long enough so that,[br]you can afford to forget it after.

0:07:52.049,0:07:55.279
Here we are, [br]half of this, now the filet.

0:07:58.738,0:08:01.758
(Claudine) If you have any questions[br]you should shout them out,

0:08:01.758,0:08:03.633
it's a good opportunity.

0:08:06.448,0:08:08.259
(Claudine) There's going to be a test.

0:08:08.259,0:08:11.151
(Laughter)

0:08:11.769,0:08:13.329
(Jacques) This way.

0:08:13.329,0:08:14.997
There's my carcass.

0:08:17.469,0:08:21.430
Now, the tip of the filet,[br]you remove it here.

0:08:27.398,0:08:29.070
This one here --

0:08:34.310,0:08:38.120
So, you free your hand[br]by learning those techniques

0:08:38.120,0:08:40.524
and as I said, you can now

0:08:40.524,0:08:44.161
think in term of texture,[br]in term of other things

0:08:45.809,0:08:50.116
because, as I said, you free your hand[br]by repeating and repeating.

0:08:50.269,0:08:52.978
Now, this is one part of yourself,

0:08:52.978,0:08:55.640
half of yourself is there, [br]it's the craftsman;

0:08:55.640,0:08:57.552
the other part of yourself

0:08:58.979,0:09:01.506
now depend on whether [br]you have talent or not,

0:09:02.499,0:09:06.358
and even if you have [br]a little bit of talent, not too much,

0:09:06.358,0:09:10.651
you can still run a little restaurant[br]by being a good technician.

0:09:11.020,0:09:14.755
If you have a lot of talent,[br]then you can take it further.

0:09:15.019,0:09:18.357
Not all the chefs are René Redzepi,

0:09:19.207,0:09:20.683
or David Chang,

0:09:22.556,0:09:24.498
or José Andrés --

0:09:33.229,0:09:34.864
Here we are.

0:09:35.104,0:09:40.118
(Applause and cheering)

0:09:40.958,0:09:43.861
(Jacques) At that point [br]you really don't want to cut the bone

0:09:43.861,0:09:48.826
because the skin will shrink [br]all over the place so, we break it.

0:09:49.998,0:09:53.869
And you know, the interesting part[br]is that if you carve in the dining room,

0:09:53.869,0:09:57.022
or if you do a quail [br]or a pheasant or a goose,

0:09:57.022,0:09:59.034
the morphology is the same.

0:09:59.034,0:10:02.199
If you cut a chicken [br]in pieces to do a skew,

0:10:02.199,0:10:06.729
you cut exactly in the sample place,[br]at the shoulder joint, at the hip joint --

0:10:09.480,0:10:10.619
Okay.

0:10:12.638,0:10:17.498
Now, you have to be very proud [br]of what you're doing

0:10:17.498,0:10:23.997
but you also have to be humble[br]to a certain extend

0:10:23.997,0:10:26.921
because there's always someone

0:10:26.921,0:10:31.328
who can think with [br]more creativity than you are,

0:10:31.328,0:10:34.978
who can think harder than you do.

0:10:34.978,0:10:38.969
We're all limited[br]by the extent of our taste

0:10:38.969,0:10:40.934
and they are different,

0:10:40.934,0:10:44.208
and sometimes, you have people,

0:10:44.208,0:10:46.842
like a food critic, who doesn't [br]really know how to cook

0:10:46.842,0:10:49.429
but maybe who can[br]taste better than you do.

0:10:49.429,0:10:52.049
We fail on that and sometimes[br]it's not easy to take,

0:10:52.049,0:10:54.190
but that's the way it is.

0:10:55.318,0:11:01.173
For me, a young chef should work[br]with a good chef, in a good place,

0:11:01.909,0:11:07.728
and at that point your [aim] is [br]to try to visualize what that chef does.

0:11:08.518,0:11:15.001
If she or he works with you,[br]then you try to see --

0:11:15.880,0:11:18.665
Yeah, that's where there are no bones --

0:11:18.959,0:11:20.509
a little bit here --

0:11:20.868,0:11:25.088
you try to see the food through[br]his or her sense of aesthetic,

0:11:25.088,0:11:26.990
their sense of taste,

0:11:30.360,0:11:32.657
and even if it doesn't coincide with you,

0:11:32.657,0:11:34.630
most of the time it won't coincide

0:11:34.630,0:11:37.139
with your sense of taste[br]or your sense of aesthetic,

0:11:37.139,0:11:39.219
but it doesn't [br]really matter at that point,

0:11:39.219,0:11:41.987
you have to look at it through that,

0:11:41.987,0:11:44.320
and you do it for a year or two,

0:11:45.179,0:11:48.463
then you work with another chef[br]for a year or two,

0:11:48.908,0:11:52.529
and again looking at things [br]through a different point of view,

0:11:52.668,0:11:54.935
different sense of aesthetic,

0:11:56.531,0:12:00.054
and then maybe with a third one[br]a few more times --

0:12:00.649,0:12:04.188
then, at some point,[br]you're going to give it back.

0:12:05.098,0:12:06.891
You're going to give it back,

0:12:07.493,0:12:11.075
and now you're going to filter it[br]through your sense of taste,

0:12:11.468,0:12:13.464
through your sense of aesthetic,

0:12:13.938,0:12:15.159
that's how it works

0:12:15.159,0:12:18.677
because ultimately, at some point,[br]you cannot escape yourself,

0:12:18.677,0:12:21.952
you are who you are, and that's the way[br]how you are going to do it.

0:12:21.952,0:12:25.861
It's always a bit of a paradox for me

0:12:25.861,0:12:28.680
because I work with young chefs[br]like at Boston University

0:12:28.680,0:12:33.554
and everyone wants to do [br]something special and different.

0:12:33.920,0:12:36.921
I do a class which I call a perfect meal,

0:12:36.921,0:12:41.003
which is a roast chicken,[br]a bowl of potatoes and a salad.

0:12:41.480,0:12:42.899
It used to be done this way:

0:12:42.899,0:12:47.320
They all go to the stove[br]to do the same type of things

0:12:48.219,0:12:54.778
and I say, "Don't try to blew my mind[br]because I know that I have 12 people here,

0:12:54.778,0:12:56.982
I'm going to have 12 different chicken."

0:12:56.982,0:12:58.380
Because that's the way it is,

0:12:58.380,0:13:02.039
you don't really have to torture yourself [br]to be different, you are different,

0:13:02.039,0:13:04.870
there's no way that you can [br]do exactly the same thing

0:13:04.870,0:13:06.715
than the person next to you.

0:13:08.649,0:13:11.275
This is a good beef stuffing [br]- not really - but

0:13:12.589,0:13:14.255
just to give you an idea.

0:13:22.149,0:13:23.571
Okay, Titine --

0:13:26.988,0:13:32.360
So, we have our galantine,[br]that is if we poach it,

0:13:32.688,0:13:35.383
and our ballotine if we roast it.

0:13:35.529,0:13:36.910
Thank you.

0:13:37.228,0:13:38.931
So, we put it this way --

0:13:52.109,0:13:53.908
(Claudine) No questions?

0:14:09.088,0:14:10.600
(Jacques) Okay.

0:14:21.099,0:14:22.459
(Jacques) Very quiet here.

0:14:22.459,0:14:23.790
(Claudine) I know.

0:14:24.239,0:14:25.987
(Claudine) Do you want some wine?

0:14:26.128,0:14:29.497
(Jacques) Ah, my daughter knows me --

0:14:29.693,0:14:31.648
(Laughter)

0:14:33.339,0:14:35.294
(Jacques) Our galantine, so --

0:14:35.294,0:14:41.068
(Applause)

0:14:44.970,0:14:46.480
(Jacques) Up to that point --

0:14:46.480,0:14:48.401
(Claudine) You have five minutes --

0:14:48.401,0:14:50.078
(Jacques) Oh yeah, okay.

0:14:50.078,0:14:54.229
The technique to do something[br]remain fairly constant,

0:15:01.158,0:15:03.209
but at that point[br]this is what it'll change:

0:15:03.209,0:15:06.329
when you're happy with the way [br]you cook it, what you do with it,

0:15:06.329,0:15:09.241
the seasoning and all of that [br]become your own.

0:15:11.221,0:15:12.129
Okay.

0:15:12.999,0:15:15.878
(Eggs cracking)

0:15:18.071,0:15:20.821
- (Jacques) Pepper, Titine?[br]- (Claudine) Yeah.

0:15:21.030,0:15:22.994
(Jacques) That's your salt --

0:15:26.484,0:15:28.118
(Pepper mill grinding)

0:15:28.667,0:15:32.099
(Claudine) Everybody needs one of me [br]in your kitchen, you all need me --

0:15:32.099,0:15:34.311
(Laughter)

0:15:34.999,0:15:37.857
(Jacques) Now I cook with[br]my granddaughter as well.

0:15:39.430,0:15:40.885
(Claudine) She's 12.

0:15:42.428,0:15:43.783
(Jacques) Yes --

0:15:44.229,0:15:49.250
when I did a television show [br]with Claudine many years ago --

0:15:50.889,0:15:53.231
(Jacques) Why did you [br]give me two of those?

0:15:53.231,0:15:56.009
(Claudine) I offered[br]whatever you want it --

0:15:56.009,0:15:57.544
(Jacques) Okay, good.

0:15:58.358,0:16:03.462
(Jacques) I learned how to make [br]three different types of omelettes.

0:16:04.840,0:16:08.814
A flat omelette, called à la piperade

0:16:11.174,0:16:13.128
or omelette basquaise and so forth --

0:16:13.248,0:16:15.149
Western omelette, as it's called the US,

0:16:15.149,0:16:17.599
and then, we did an omelette[br]that my mother would do

0:16:17.599,0:16:20.480
with very large curd, brown --

0:16:24.550,0:16:29.058
and then we did a more [br]classic omelette - like this one -

0:16:30.967,0:16:37.579
and for those we want to make [br]very small curds, like scramble egg.

0:16:51.521,0:16:54.760
Now, there are three different [br]types of omelettes that I would do,

0:16:54.760,0:16:58.138
one is not better than the other,[br]it's just different.

0:16:58.568,0:17:00.998
A few weeks ago, [br]I did that for a television

0:17:00.998,0:17:04.291
who came to my house and wanted me[br]to do the three types of omelettes,

0:17:04.291,0:17:05.709
which I did --

0:17:06.720,0:17:10.488
and then they realized they only have [br]a minute and a half when they edited,

0:17:10.488,0:17:13.499
so they just took some stuff [br]from one omelette to the other,

0:17:13.499,0:17:15.828
to the other, and mix [br]the whole thing together --

0:17:15.828,0:17:16.838
(Laughter)

0:17:16.838,0:17:17.988
(Jacques) What a waste!

0:17:17.988,0:17:20.183
So, here you bring it back here,

0:17:20.183,0:17:22.706
so that you're now rolling [br]really a carpet --

0:17:23.151,0:17:25.309
so you're just bringing one lid --

0:17:26.770,0:17:28.858
one lid here and a half moon --

0:17:29.619,0:17:31.124
nice half moon --

0:17:31.749,0:17:33.330
bring that here --

0:17:34.158,0:17:36.676
bring the other lid on top --

0:17:36.929,0:17:39.354
this is the time [br]when you want to stuff it,

0:17:40.488,0:17:41.781
change hands --

0:17:42.100,0:17:43.780
and then that omelette should be --

0:17:45.839,0:17:47.210
to the edge --

0:17:49.298,0:17:50.433
Ooooh!

0:17:51.178,0:17:52.556
The chef in my kitchen --

0:17:52.556,0:17:55.829
(Applause)

0:18:01.150,0:18:04.079
The chef in my kitchen [br]would have seen the pleads on top

0:18:04.079,0:18:08.209
and he would have done some reference[br]to the behind of his grandmother --

0:18:08.209,0:18:10.541
(Laughter)

0:18:12.701,0:18:16.938
As you see, it should be pale [br]right on top, very creamy,

0:18:16.938,0:18:19.828
very soft inside, like scramble eggs,

0:18:19.828,0:18:23.216
and that's what a classic omelette is.

0:18:25.049,0:18:26.170
Yes, Claudine?

0:18:26.170,0:18:27.258
(Claudine) Yes, papa!

0:18:27.258,0:18:28.834
(Jacques) Will you drink to that?

0:18:28.834,0:18:29.811
(Claudine) I will!

0:18:29.811,0:18:31.241
(Jacques) Thank you very much!

0:18:31.241,0:18:33.949
(Applause and cheering!

0:18:39.958,0:18:45.488
(Claudine) Whatever [br]you take away from here, I hope --

0:18:45.718,0:18:48.694
and it's so wonderful that [br]you're taking the time to be here,

0:18:48.828,0:18:52.873
I hope you share [br]your knowledge with everyone

0:18:52.991,0:18:55.850
because that's how the craft continues,

0:18:55.979,0:18:58.689
that's how our trade continues,[br]that's how it gets better.

0:18:58.709,0:19:03.582
(Jacques) Yeah, I realized quite well,[br]all of you know those techniques,

0:19:03.582,0:19:09.468
some better than me... [br]yet, I thank you for coming

0:19:09.468,0:19:13.589
and listening to me, but for me[br]the permanence is there,

0:19:13.589,0:19:19.208
to teach, to explain and to show[br]at least the basic structure,

0:19:19.208,0:19:22.339
and at that point, when you have[br]that type of manual dexterity

0:19:22.339,0:19:24.508
or technical knowledge,

0:19:24.508,0:19:26.448
then you can run a kitchen quite well.

0:19:26.448,0:19:29.390
As I said, if you happen to have talent,

0:19:29.390,0:19:31.689
then you bring it to a another level

0:19:31.689,0:19:37.609
and, like the person who works [br]in a studio for a couple of years,

0:19:37.949,0:19:40.652
after that, you know how [br]to mix all your paintings,

0:19:40.652,0:19:42.542
and know what you can do with a brush,

0:19:42.542,0:19:45.088
you step outside you do [br]one painting after another --

0:19:45.088,0:19:47.149
Does that make you an artist?

0:19:47.149,0:19:49.704
Not really, at that point [br]you're a good craftsman.

0:19:49.799,0:19:52.188
If, however, you have talent,

0:19:52.188,0:19:54.999
now you have the means in your hands[br]to express that talent,

0:19:54.999,0:19:56.783
to take it somewhere.

0:19:57.680,0:19:59.909
As I said, you do have to [br]transcend that level

0:19:59.909,0:20:03.894
at which you have to concentrate[br]on the manual task that you're at.

0:20:03.926,0:20:07.499
You see a beginner coming around[br]and you say: "Do you have any parsley?"

0:20:07.499,0:20:10.400
and he says: "Don't disturb me,[br]someone is slicing something."

0:20:10.400,0:20:13.740
You have to transcend that level[br]so you don't have to think about it,

0:20:13.740,0:20:17.259
things that are there, [br]so you can think in terms of texture,

0:20:17.259,0:20:20.312
combination of ingredients,[br]or things like these.

0:20:20.312,0:20:21.497
Right, Titine?

0:20:21.497,0:20:23.610
(Claudine) Right. [br]Do you have any questions?

0:20:23.610,0:20:26.228
(Jacques) I think I was there[br]at one and a half minute,

0:20:26.228,0:20:28.018
now I'm back to seven minutes?

0:20:28.088,0:20:29.828
(Laughter)

0:20:29.988,0:20:31.628
(Claudine) Okay!

0:20:31.698,0:20:32.735
(Jacques) Yes --

0:20:33.438,0:20:35.533
Any questions?

0:20:37.841,0:20:39.595
No questions? Yes, sir?

0:20:39.595,0:20:41.198
(speaking from the audience)

0:20:41.198,0:20:43.779
(Claudine) Oh, yeah.[br](Jacques) Do I know that man here?

0:20:43.779,0:20:47.359
(Claudine) I gave him 20 bucks before [br]to say that. Thank you, Michelle!

0:20:47.479,0:20:49.318
(Claudine blows a kiss)

0:20:49.429,0:20:51.200
(Jacques) Thank you, Michelle... yes!

0:20:52.887,0:20:56.459
I know that there are great, [br]fantastic chefs here --

0:20:56.459,0:21:00.012
we had an extraordinary, [br]extraordinary meal at Noma,

0:21:00.012,0:21:02.899
I'm gratified to be here,

0:21:02.899,0:21:05.559
I know I'm the oldest of the group

0:21:05.559,0:21:09.849
and now that I've passed 80 years old[br]I'm supposed to be wise.

0:21:09.849,0:21:12.520
I don't think that I'm wiser[br]than when I was 30 years old

0:21:12.520,0:21:16.019
but this is what happens when you get old.

0:21:16.019,0:21:17.468
You think I'm wise, Claudine?

0:21:17.468,0:21:21.329
- (Claudine) Yes, yes, of course, you are![br]- (Jacques) Ok, that's a good daughter.

0:21:21.329,0:21:22.428
(Laughter)

0:21:22.428,0:21:26.841
(Jacques) Now I'm doing a show[br]with my granddaughter, Shorey,

0:21:26.841,0:21:29.228
which we called "Lesson of a grandfather".

0:21:29.228,0:21:32.749
So, little things, [br]even how to set up a table,

0:21:32.749,0:21:35.969
eat properly at the table or --

0:21:35.969,0:21:38.088
But no, not enjoying wine yet.

0:21:38.088,0:21:41.368
(Claudine) No, no, no wine yet,[br]it's just to give us show, so --

0:21:41.368,0:21:43.021
(Laughter)

0:21:43.021,0:21:44.479
(Claudine) Yes, sir?

0:21:44.479,0:21:47.108
(speaking from the audience)

0:21:52.498,0:21:56.819
It's a very interesting question.[br]Do you want to repeat the question?

0:21:56.819,0:21:59.588
(Claudine) The question is[br]how are the kitchens today

0:21:59.588,0:22:03.426
different than the kitchens[br]that my father was an apprentice in.

0:22:04.409,0:22:05.588
Pretty dramatic?

0:22:05.588,0:22:08.563
(Jacques) Yes, well, no... but, yes!

0:22:08.563,0:22:10.128
(Laughter)

0:22:10.128,0:22:12.289
There is a permanence there,[br]the point is that

0:22:12.289,0:22:14.189
you still have to come on time,

0:22:14.189,0:22:16.289
you still have to be ready to work,

0:22:16.289,0:22:20.139
you still work in a place which is [br]very structured, very disciplined,

0:22:20.139,0:22:21.359
like in the army,

0:22:21.359,0:22:24.079
you don't say, "Yes, captain!",[br]but you say, "Yes, chef!",

0:22:24.079,0:22:26.668
it's about the same thing[br]and you have to --

0:22:26.668,0:22:29.570
you have to, so that [br]the kitchen works properly.

0:22:29.570,0:22:30.968
You're a member of a team,

0:22:30.968,0:22:33.929
and if you're late or don't show up[br]to be part of that team,

0:22:33.929,0:22:35.748
you're going to destroy the structure,

0:22:35.748,0:22:37.708
so that remains the same.

0:22:37.708,0:22:40.511
That being said, when I was a kid,

0:22:40.511,0:22:44.181
we would never up there[br]to cut a tomato --

0:22:44.181,0:22:45.739
we only cut it in one direction,

0:22:45.739,0:22:49.449
we'd never alternate to the other side[br]when I worked at the Plaza and in Paris,

0:22:49.449,0:22:50.749
or whatever in the fifties.

0:22:50.749,0:22:53.027
Now, there's a much greater deal

0:22:53.027,0:22:55.401
and innovation is part of yourself too.

0:22:55.401,0:22:59.878
And, of course, we,[br]up to 20-30 years ago --

0:22:59.878,0:23:05.568
I've been in the kitchen 65-67 years --

0:23:05.568,0:23:08.300
the cook were at the bottom[br]of the social scale.

0:23:08.300,0:23:12.828
Any good mother would have wanted[br]her child to marry a doctor, an architect,

0:23:14.998,0:23:16.809
certainly not a cook.

0:23:16.809,0:23:20.388
Now we are genius! I don't know [br]exactly what happened but --

0:23:20.388,0:23:23.101
this is great, this is terrific,[br]so it's quite different.

0:23:23.101,0:23:25.859
- (Claudine) Papa, he has a question.[br]- (Jacques) Yes, sir.

0:23:30.099,0:23:32.371
(René) I have a question for you.

0:23:32.371,0:23:34.138
You said you're more than 80, right?

0:23:34.138,0:23:36.018
(Jacques) Yes.

0:23:36.018,0:23:38.129
(René) I'm 39.

0:23:41.543,0:23:44.285
I think a lot of cooks [br]that deal with this --

0:23:45.695,0:23:48.379
what can I say, like, guilt, sometimes --

0:23:48.379,0:23:51.572
they feel like they should be yearning[br]for something in the past,

0:23:51.572,0:23:53.889
that in the past [br]things were better, kind of --

0:23:55.279,0:23:58.774
Can you please tell us

0:23:58.904,0:24:00.899
how it used to be in the kitchen

0:24:00.899,0:24:04.429
and whether you think [br]the life in the kitchen is better today,

0:24:04.429,0:24:08.319
and actually, do you think [br]that food has become better

0:24:08.319,0:24:10.401
- and is becoming better?[br]- (Jacques) Yes.

0:24:10.401,0:24:13.211
(René) Or, was it better [br]back in the old days?

0:24:14.115,0:24:16.718
(Jacques) No, it is better,[br]there's a cycle also --

0:24:16.718,0:24:19.872
certainly as I said, my mother used [br]only organic products too

0:24:19.872,0:24:22.408
but that's what we have,[br]we didn't have anything else,

0:24:22.408,0:24:25.297
so we're going back to that,[br]which is a great thing, of course;

0:24:25.297,0:24:27.388
to be in communion with the Earth

0:24:27.388,0:24:29.259
and in communion to where you work,

0:24:29.259,0:24:30.910
and be local, and so forth.

0:24:30.910,0:24:32.501
Yes, absolutely.

0:24:32.951,0:24:34.305
The cooks now still have

0:24:34.305,0:24:36.229
the same structure[br]that we used to have

0:24:36.229,0:24:40.630
but you have much more freedom[br]than we ever had before.

0:24:41.888,0:24:45.340
Certainly, I got kicked in the rear end[br]a few times by my chefs,

0:24:45.340,0:24:49.183
I mean it was the type of things[br]that it was supposed at that time --

0:24:49.183,0:24:50.709
it was supposed to be difficult,

0:24:50.709,0:24:53.181
you have to go to [br]a rite of passage and all of that,

0:24:53.181,0:24:54.770
which is not really necessary,

0:24:54.770,0:24:56.892
you don't need to be yelled at --

0:25:00.302,0:25:04.532
I've seen a lot of show on television,[br]certainly, reality show,

0:25:04.532,0:25:09.279
and the kitchen is like mayhem and [br]the chef is yelling all over the place.

0:25:09.279,0:25:12.306
This is not conducive [br]to good work, certainly.

0:25:12.539,0:25:16.478
There's a great deal of love, a great deal[br]of yourself that you put in that food,

0:25:16.478,0:25:20.739
and the yelling and other people too,[br]the lack of respect,

0:25:20.739,0:25:25.032
those things are not conducive,[br]in my opinion, to learning well

0:25:25.032,0:25:27.418
and teaching people how to cook.

0:25:27.418,0:25:31.248
At a certain age, when I was 12-13,[br]the best way of learning

0:25:31.248,0:25:34.859
was probably through [br]that kind of osmotic way:

0:25:34.859,0:25:37.619
you look, you repeat, [br]you look, you repeat, and so forth.

0:25:37.619,0:25:39.418
We passed that level now.

0:25:39.418,0:25:42.998
Chefs come from cooking schools,

0:25:42.998,0:25:46.220
they come out from college[br]to their older time,

0:25:46.220,0:25:48.841
they want to know how to do it,[br]they want us to explain,

0:25:48.841,0:25:51.989
so it's a different way of teaching[br]than what we're used to;

0:25:51.989,0:25:55.229
and people are much more in a hurry[br]than how we were too;

0:25:55.229,0:25:58.412
we had at least three other apprenticeship[br]without paid or anything,

0:25:58.412,0:26:01.779
so, you know, there are [br]six apprentices in front of you --

0:26:02.979,0:26:04.577
so, this is much better now.

0:26:04.577,0:26:08.379
A much greater respect for the chef,[br]for what we do for our tradition,

0:26:08.379,0:26:10.509
and this is why, I mean, [br]we're here today --

0:26:10.509,0:26:11.979
- Yes?[br]- (Claudine) Wrap it up.

0:26:11.979,0:26:15.548
(Jacques) Wrap it up. Yes, ma'm, okay.[br]But I still see one minute --

0:26:15.548,0:26:17.320
(Claudine) Trust me.

0:26:17.320,0:26:21.431
(Jacques) I don't know whether [br]that's the right answer to your question,

0:26:21.431,0:26:24.110
or whether I was not [br]specific enough but --

0:26:25.520,0:26:27.669
(René) Can you just say in a yes or no?[br]

0:26:27.669,0:26:30.158
(Laughter)

0:26:30.158,0:26:33.779
(Claudine) You'll be the first one[br]to ever get that answer, if it's possible.

0:26:33.779,0:26:36.757
- (René) If you look back when you were 30[br]- (Jacques) Right --

0:26:36.757,0:26:39.938
(René) and you look at kitchens [br]and chefs and cooking now,

0:26:39.938,0:26:41.790
do you believe that is better now?

0:26:41.790,0:26:44.130
(Jacques) Oh yes, absolutely, [br]no question at all.

0:26:44.130,0:26:46.889
- (René) Thank you so much![br]- (Jacques) No question at all!

0:26:46.889,0:26:48.612
(Applause)

0:26:53.429,0:26:56.591
(Claudine) Thank you, of course,[br]to the MAD team for working there,

0:26:56.591,0:27:00.710
took us all to the extend [br]that I find extraordinary

0:27:00.710,0:27:02.568
and rather inspiring so,

0:27:02.568,0:27:05.338
I hope that everyone feels really good[br]about the work here,

0:27:05.338,0:27:09.748
but, of course, thanks to all of you[br]for caring so much about what we do

0:27:09.748,0:27:12.768
and about what you do [br]and bringing it to the next level.

0:27:12.768,0:27:15.349
We hope you have a wonderful,[br]wonderful couple of days.

0:27:15.349,0:27:16.829
- Thank you![br]- (Jacques) We are!

0:27:16.829,0:27:18.469
And drink a lot of wine![br]Thank you!

0:27:18.649,0:27:21.419
(Applause and cheering)

0:27:24.459,0:27:26.025
My daughter, Claudine!

0:27:42.808,0:27:45.421
- (Jacques) Jose is not here?[br]- (René) He's here --

0:27:47.510,0:27:51.138
(Jacques) Okay. Everything I know,[br]I learned from him, you know.

0:27:51.138,0:27:53.378
(Laughter)