Jacques Pépin at MAD5: "Techniques of the Past for the Future"
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0:06 - 0:08(Jacques) Good morning!
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0:08 - 0:10Good morning, everybody!
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0:10 - 0:12(Audience) Good morning!
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0:12 - 0:15Claudine and I are delighted
to be with you this morning -
0:15 - 0:16to be the first ones.
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0:17 - 0:22I left home when I was 13
to go to apprenticeship, -
0:23 - 0:25that was in 1949.
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0:26 - 0:30Actually, home was a restaurant
where my mother was the chef, -
0:31 - 0:33I was already in that business.
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0:33 - 0:38In fact, there was 12 restaurants
through the years in my family -
0:38 - 0:40and 12 of them owned by women,
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0:41 - 0:44I'm the first male to enter
that business in my family. -
0:45 - 0:49I went into apprenticeship from Lyon,
where my mother had her little restaurant -
0:49 - 0:53to Bourg-en-Bresse, where
I was born a few miles away. -
0:54 - 0:57Prior to that, when we were
about 8-9 years old, -
0:57 - 0:59my mother had that little restaurant
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0:59 - 1:02so, my brother and I,
before going to school, -
1:02 - 1:05walked with my mother to the market
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1:05 - 1:09- the St. Antoine market
along the Saône river - -
1:09 - 1:14and she would walk the market one way,
about 1/2 a mile, and buy on her way back. -
1:15 - 1:18Buying a case of mushrooms
which were getting dark -
1:18 - 1:20maybe for a third of the price or less.
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1:21 - 1:25We carried, of course,
we didn't have a car at the time. -
1:25 - 1:29She'd get home and start doing
her vegetables, peeling for the day. -
1:30 - 1:33She did not have
a refrigerator at that time. -
1:33 - 1:37She had an ice box, that is
a block of ice into a little cabinet, -
1:38 - 1:42so she'd have chicken of the day, meat,
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1:42 - 1:48fish, usually, whiting or mackerel
or skate - inexpensive fish - -
1:49 - 1:52and that she has to use it that day.
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1:52 - 1:55And again, the day after,
we start all over again. -
1:56 - 1:59Everything was organic,
everything was local. -
1:59 - 2:02The word organic did not really exist --
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2:02 - 2:06well, since chemical fertilizers
did not exist either, -
2:06 - 2:10or fungicides, insecticides, pesticides,
all that stuff did not exist, -
2:10 - 2:15so everything was, you know, local and --
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2:15 - 2:17(Claudine) Organic.
(Jacques) Organic, that's it. -
2:17 - 2:22So, I went into apprenticeship,
I was 13 years old and, at that time, -
2:23 - 2:27it was very structured,
well, still is to certain extend, -
2:28 - 2:31you got to be there on time,
you got to be clean, -
2:31 - 2:33you have to be willing,
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2:33 - 2:37it's discipline, it's structure,
that's the way a kitchen can work. -
2:37 - 2:40We learn through a type of osmosis.
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2:40 - 2:45The chef never really explained
anything, he'd just say, "Do that". -
2:46 - 2:49And if you say, "Why?", and he'd say,
"Because I just told you". -
2:49 - 2:51That was about the end
of the apprenticeship. -
2:52 - 2:56Probably, just as good for
someone who's 13-14 years old. -
2:57 - 3:02So, we worked, repeating, and repeating,
and repeating those techniques ad nauseam; -
3:03 - 3:06we were not allowed
to go to the stove for a year. -
3:07 - 3:10So, during that year,
I did pluck a lot of chicken, -
3:10 - 3:14eviscerated a lot of chicken,
scaled fish, chopped parsley, -
3:14 - 3:18all of that type of things,
and then, the chef called me -- -
3:18 - 3:20My name was "you" at the time,
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3:20 - 3:25then by the time I went to the stove,
they called me Jacques, so I got the name. -
3:26 - 3:28So, he said, "You start tomorrow".
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3:29 - 3:32"I start tomorrow?",
I didn't know how to do it; -
3:32 - 3:34I went to the stove
and I knew how to do it. -
3:34 - 3:39There was that type of osmosis,
things that you show, that you mentor. -
3:39 - 3:43I've got a book called, "La technique",
that I published in 1975, -
3:43 - 3:45so it's 40-year old,
-
3:45 - 3:49and I don't cook
the way I did 40 years ago. -
3:49 - 3:52But the way I did an egg white,
or sharpen a knife, -
3:53 - 3:55or bone out a chicken,
to give you a sense; -
3:55 - 3:59it is that kind of permanence,
that kind of continuity, -
3:59 - 4:01that, you learn in the kitchen;
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4:01 - 4:04to be first a craftsman.
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4:04 - 4:11And it's very difficult,
very often, to explain in words -
4:11 - 4:13something that you can show --
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4:15 - 4:17It's easier to show --
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4:21 - 4:23than to explain
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4:25 - 4:26in words.
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4:30 - 4:33You can do that to chocolate as well.
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4:33 - 4:35You'd do that at exactly
the right temperature. -
4:36 - 4:38And we used to
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4:39 - 4:41put the butter in
a little container, that on top, -
4:42 - 4:44and now you can charge 20 bucks for it.
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4:44 - 4:46(Laughter)
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4:47 - 4:52Put that in water that's cold,
so we could do whatever. -
4:52 - 4:54(Applause)
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4:54 - 4:55Thank you, Titine.
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4:55 - 4:58For me, first you have to be a craftsman.
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4:58 - 5:03You have to be a craftsman, and is
that repeat, and repeat, and repeat, -
5:03 - 5:05that is very important.
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5:07 - 5:08Just like
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5:08 - 5:14you can spend a year, two years,
in a studio in art school -
5:14 - 5:18and learn the law of perspective,
it is perfectly fine, -
5:18 - 5:21and you learn how to mix
yellow and blue to make green, -
5:21 - 5:24you know what to do with your thumb,
with your spatula, with the brush; -
5:24 - 5:28then you can come out and
do one painting after another. -
5:28 - 5:30So, does that make you a chef? Not really.
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5:30 - 5:36But you're by then, a good craftsman,
and that's very important. -
5:36 - 5:38You have, first, to know your trade,
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5:38 - 5:40whether you are
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5:42 - 5:45a shoemaker, or a cabinet maker
- like my father - -
5:46 - 5:48first, you know your trade.
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5:48 - 5:53So, those things that we boned out
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5:55 - 5:57I learned, as I said, as a child.
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6:02 - 6:04And then, I learned this from --
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6:04 - 6:07I don't remember where I learn that but --
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6:08 - 6:10when you learn something
you learn it a certain way -
6:10 - 6:13and after a while, you don't remember
where it comes from, -
6:13 - 6:16and you do it your own way, eventually.
-
6:17 - 6:21To do a type of lollipop
like that, as we used to -- -
6:23 - 6:29So, those techniques, as I said,
first make you a craftsman, -
6:30 - 6:33and if you are a good craftsman,
then you can run a restaurant. -
6:35 - 6:38There are about 20,000 restaurants in NY
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6:39 - 6:45and 100 are well known, maybe 200,
maybe 300, maybe 400 even, -
6:45 - 6:51but what happen to the 19,500
is that they are run by artisans, -
6:52 - 6:56people who know how to work properly,
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6:58 - 7:04and this is the only way if you become,
in my opinion, a good craftsman, -
7:04 - 7:08if you have that type of knowledge,
then you can express yourself. -
7:11 - 7:12This is half of yourself,
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7:13 - 7:15the other half has to do with talent.
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7:15 - 7:17If you have talent --
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7:17 - 7:19If you happen to have talent,
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7:19 - 7:22by this I mean, if you have taste,
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7:22 - 7:26if you have a bit of a vision,
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7:26 - 7:31if you have a little bit of creativity,
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7:31 - 7:32then you can express yourself,
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7:32 - 7:36you now have the means in your hands
to express yourself, -
7:37 - 7:40if you've gone through those techniques.
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7:40 - 7:44You have to repeat
those techniques, as I said, -
7:44 - 7:48long enough so that,
you can afford to forget it after. -
7:52 - 7:55Here we are,
half of this, now the filet. -
7:59 - 8:02(Claudine) If you have any questions
you should shout them out, -
8:02 - 8:04it's a good opportunity.
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8:06 - 8:08(Claudine) There's going to be a test.
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8:08 - 8:11(Laughter)
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8:12 - 8:13(Jacques) This way.
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8:13 - 8:15There's my carcass.
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8:17 - 8:21Now, the tip of the filet,
you remove it here. -
8:27 - 8:29This one here --
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8:34 - 8:38So, you free your hand
by learning those techniques -
8:38 - 8:41and as I said, you can now
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8:41 - 8:44think in term of texture,
in term of other things -
8:46 - 8:50because, as I said, you free your hand
by repeating and repeating. -
8:50 - 8:53Now, this is one part of yourself,
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8:53 - 8:56half of yourself is there,
it's the craftsman; -
8:56 - 8:58the other part of yourself
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8:59 - 9:02now depend on whether
you have talent or not, -
9:02 - 9:06and even if you have
a little bit of talent, not too much, -
9:06 - 9:11you can still run a little restaurant
by being a good technician. -
9:11 - 9:15If you have a lot of talent,
then you can take it further. -
9:15 - 9:18Not all the chefs are René Redzepi,
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9:19 - 9:21or David Chang,
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9:23 - 9:24or José Andrés --
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9:33 - 9:35Here we are.
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9:35 - 9:40(Applause and cheering)
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9:41 - 9:44(Jacques) At that point
you really don't want to cut the bone -
9:44 - 9:49because the skin will shrink
all over the place so, we break it. -
9:50 - 9:54And you know, the interesting part
is that if you carve in the dining room, -
9:54 - 9:57or if you do a quail
or a pheasant or a goose, -
9:57 - 9:59the morphology is the same.
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9:59 - 10:02If you cut a chicken
in pieces to do a skew, -
10:02 - 10:07you cut exactly in the sample place,
at the shoulder joint, at the hip joint -- -
10:09 - 10:11Okay.
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10:13 - 10:17Now, you have to be very proud
of what you're doing -
10:17 - 10:24but you also have to be humble
to a certain extend -
10:24 - 10:27because there's always someone
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10:27 - 10:31who can think with
more creativity than you are, -
10:31 - 10:35who can think harder than you do.
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10:35 - 10:39We're all limited
by the extent of our taste -
10:39 - 10:41and they are different,
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10:41 - 10:44and sometimes, you have people,
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10:44 - 10:47like a food critic, who doesn't
really know how to cook -
10:47 - 10:49but maybe who can
taste better than you do. -
10:49 - 10:52We fail on that and sometimes
it's not easy to take, -
10:52 - 10:54but that's the way it is.
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10:55 - 11:01For me, a young chef should work
with a good chef, in a good place, -
11:02 - 11:08and at that point your [aim] is
to try to visualize what that chef does. -
11:09 - 11:15If she or he works with you,
then you try to see -- -
11:16 - 11:19Yeah, that's where there are no bones --
-
11:19 - 11:21a little bit here --
-
11:21 - 11:25you try to see the food through
his or her sense of aesthetic, -
11:25 - 11:27their sense of taste,
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11:30 - 11:33and even if it doesn't coincide with you,
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11:33 - 11:35most of the time it won't coincide
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11:35 - 11:37with your sense of taste
or your sense of aesthetic, -
11:37 - 11:39but it doesn't
really matter at that point, -
11:39 - 11:42you have to look at it through that,
-
11:42 - 11:44and you do it for a year or two,
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11:45 - 11:48then you work with another chef
for a year or two, -
11:49 - 11:53and again looking at things
through a different point of view, -
11:53 - 11:55different sense of aesthetic,
-
11:57 - 12:00and then maybe with a third one
a few more times -- -
12:01 - 12:04then, at some point,
you're going to give it back. -
12:05 - 12:07You're going to give it back,
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12:07 - 12:11and now you're going to filter it
through your sense of taste, -
12:11 - 12:13through your sense of aesthetic,
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12:14 - 12:15that's how it works
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12:15 - 12:19because ultimately, at some point,
you cannot escape yourself, -
12:19 - 12:22you are who you are, and that's the way
how you are going to do it. -
12:22 - 12:26It's always a bit of a paradox for me
-
12:26 - 12:29because I work with young chefs
like at Boston University -
12:29 - 12:34and everyone wants to do
something special and different. -
12:34 - 12:37I do a class which I call a perfect meal,
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12:37 - 12:41which is a roast chicken,
a bowl of potatoes and a salad. -
12:41 - 12:43It used to be done this way:
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12:43 - 12:47They all go to the stove
to do the same type of things -
12:48 - 12:55and I say, "Don't try to blew my mind
because I know that I have 12 people here, -
12:55 - 12:57I'm going to have 12 different chicken."
-
12:57 - 12:58Because that's the way it is,
-
12:58 - 13:02you don't really have to torture yourself
to be different, you are different, -
13:02 - 13:05there's no way that you can
do exactly the same thing -
13:05 - 13:07than the person next to you.
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13:09 - 13:11This is a good beef stuffing
- not really - but -
13:13 - 13:14just to give you an idea.
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13:22 - 13:24Okay, Titine --
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13:27 - 13:32So, we have our galantine,
that is if we poach it, -
13:33 - 13:35and our ballotine if we roast it.
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13:36 - 13:37Thank you.
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13:37 - 13:39So, we put it this way --
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13:52 - 13:54(Claudine) No questions?
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14:09 - 14:11(Jacques) Okay.
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14:21 - 14:22(Jacques) Very quiet here.
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14:22 - 14:24(Claudine) I know.
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14:24 - 14:26(Claudine) Do you want some wine?
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14:26 - 14:29(Jacques) Ah, my daughter knows me --
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14:30 - 14:32(Laughter)
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14:33 - 14:35(Jacques) Our galantine, so --
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14:35 - 14:41(Applause)
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14:45 - 14:46(Jacques) Up to that point --
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14:46 - 14:48(Claudine) You have five minutes --
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14:48 - 14:50(Jacques) Oh yeah, okay.
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14:50 - 14:54The technique to do something
remain fairly constant, -
15:01 - 15:03but at that point
this is what it'll change: -
15:03 - 15:06when you're happy with the way
you cook it, what you do with it, -
15:06 - 15:09the seasoning and all of that
become your own. -
15:11 - 15:12Okay.
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15:13 - 15:16(Eggs cracking)
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15:18 - 15:21- (Jacques) Pepper, Titine?
- (Claudine) Yeah. -
15:21 - 15:23(Jacques) That's your salt --
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15:26 - 15:28(Pepper mill grinding)
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15:29 - 15:32(Claudine) Everybody needs one of me
in your kitchen, you all need me -- -
15:32 - 15:34(Laughter)
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15:35 - 15:38(Jacques) Now I cook with
my granddaughter as well. -
15:39 - 15:41(Claudine) She's 12.
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15:42 - 15:44(Jacques) Yes --
-
15:44 - 15:49when I did a television show
with Claudine many years ago -- -
15:51 - 15:53(Jacques) Why did you
give me two of those? -
15:53 - 15:56(Claudine) I offered
whatever you want it -- -
15:56 - 15:58(Jacques) Okay, good.
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15:58 - 16:03(Jacques) I learned how to make
three different types of omelettes. -
16:05 - 16:09A flat omelette, called à la piperade
-
16:11 - 16:13or omelette basquaise and so forth --
-
16:13 - 16:15Western omelette, as it's called the US,
-
16:15 - 16:18and then, we did an omelette
that my mother would do -
16:18 - 16:20with very large curd, brown --
-
16:25 - 16:29and then we did a more
classic omelette - like this one - -
16:31 - 16:38and for those we want to make
very small curds, like scramble egg. -
16:52 - 16:55Now, there are three different
types of omelettes that I would do, -
16:55 - 16:58one is not better than the other,
it's just different. -
16:59 - 17:01A few weeks ago,
I did that for a television -
17:01 - 17:04who came to my house and wanted me
to do the three types of omelettes, -
17:04 - 17:06which I did --
-
17:07 - 17:10and then they realized they only have
a minute and a half when they edited, -
17:10 - 17:13so they just took some stuff
from one omelette to the other, -
17:13 - 17:16to the other, and mix
the whole thing together -- -
17:16 - 17:17(Laughter)
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17:17 - 17:18(Jacques) What a waste!
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17:18 - 17:20So, here you bring it back here,
-
17:20 - 17:23so that you're now rolling
really a carpet -- -
17:23 - 17:25so you're just bringing one lid --
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17:27 - 17:29one lid here and a half moon --
-
17:30 - 17:31nice half moon --
-
17:32 - 17:33bring that here --
-
17:34 - 17:37bring the other lid on top --
-
17:37 - 17:39this is the time
when you want to stuff it, -
17:40 - 17:42change hands --
-
17:42 - 17:44and then that omelette should be --
-
17:46 - 17:47to the edge --
-
17:49 - 17:50Ooooh!
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17:51 - 17:53The chef in my kitchen --
-
17:53 - 17:56(Applause)
-
18:01 - 18:04The chef in my kitchen
would have seen the pleads on top -
18:04 - 18:08and he would have done some reference
to the behind of his grandmother -- -
18:08 - 18:11(Laughter)
-
18:13 - 18:17As you see, it should be pale
right on top, very creamy, -
18:17 - 18:20very soft inside, like scramble eggs,
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18:20 - 18:23and that's what a classic omelette is.
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18:25 - 18:26Yes, Claudine?
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18:26 - 18:27(Claudine) Yes, papa!
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18:27 - 18:29(Jacques) Will you drink to that?
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18:29 - 18:30(Claudine) I will!
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18:30 - 18:31(Jacques) Thank you very much!
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18:31 - 18:34(Applause and cheering!
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18:40 - 18:45(Claudine) Whatever
you take away from here, I hope -- -
18:46 - 18:49and it's so wonderful that
you're taking the time to be here, -
18:49 - 18:53I hope you share
your knowledge with everyone -
18:53 - 18:56because that's how the craft continues,
-
18:56 - 18:59that's how our trade continues,
that's how it gets better. -
18:59 - 19:04(Jacques) Yeah, I realized quite well,
all of you know those techniques, -
19:04 - 19:09some better than me...
yet, I thank you for coming -
19:09 - 19:14and listening to me, but for me
the permanence is there, -
19:14 - 19:19to teach, to explain and to show
at least the basic structure, -
19:19 - 19:22and at that point, when you have
that type of manual dexterity -
19:22 - 19:25or technical knowledge,
-
19:25 - 19:26then you can run a kitchen quite well.
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19:26 - 19:29As I said, if you happen to have talent,
-
19:29 - 19:32then you bring it to a another level
-
19:32 - 19:38and, like the person who works
in a studio for a couple of years, -
19:38 - 19:41after that, you know how
to mix all your paintings, -
19:41 - 19:43and know what you can do with a brush,
-
19:43 - 19:45you step outside you do
one painting after another -- -
19:45 - 19:47Does that make you an artist?
-
19:47 - 19:50Not really, at that point
you're a good craftsman. -
19:50 - 19:52If, however, you have talent,
-
19:52 - 19:55now you have the means in your hands
to express that talent, -
19:55 - 19:57to take it somewhere.
-
19:58 - 20:00As I said, you do have to
transcend that level -
20:00 - 20:04at which you have to concentrate
on the manual task that you're at. -
20:04 - 20:07You see a beginner coming around
and you say: "Do you have any parsley?" -
20:07 - 20:10and he says: "Don't disturb me,
someone is slicing something." -
20:10 - 20:14You have to transcend that level
so you don't have to think about it, -
20:14 - 20:17things that are there,
so you can think in terms of texture, -
20:17 - 20:20combination of ingredients,
or things like these. -
20:20 - 20:21Right, Titine?
-
20:21 - 20:24(Claudine) Right.
Do you have any questions? -
20:24 - 20:26(Jacques) I think I was there
at one and a half minute, -
20:26 - 20:28now I'm back to seven minutes?
-
20:28 - 20:30(Laughter)
-
20:30 - 20:32(Claudine) Okay!
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20:32 - 20:33(Jacques) Yes --
-
20:33 - 20:36Any questions?
-
20:38 - 20:40No questions? Yes, sir?
-
20:40 - 20:41(speaking from the audience)
-
20:41 - 20:44(Claudine) Oh, yeah.
(Jacques) Do I know that man here? -
20:44 - 20:47(Claudine) I gave him 20 bucks before
to say that. Thank you, Michelle! -
20:47 - 20:49(Claudine blows a kiss)
-
20:49 - 20:51(Jacques) Thank you, Michelle... yes!
-
20:53 - 20:56I know that there are great,
fantastic chefs here -- -
20:56 - 21:00we had an extraordinary,
extraordinary meal at Noma, -
21:00 - 21:03I'm gratified to be here,
-
21:03 - 21:06I know I'm the oldest of the group
-
21:06 - 21:10and now that I've passed 80 years old
I'm supposed to be wise. -
21:10 - 21:13I don't think that I'm wiser
than when I was 30 years old -
21:13 - 21:16but this is what happens when you get old.
-
21:16 - 21:17You think I'm wise, Claudine?
-
21:17 - 21:21- (Claudine) Yes, yes, of course, you are!
- (Jacques) Ok, that's a good daughter. -
21:21 - 21:22(Laughter)
-
21:22 - 21:27(Jacques) Now I'm doing a show
with my granddaughter, Shorey, -
21:27 - 21:29which we called "Lesson of a grandfather".
-
21:29 - 21:33So, little things,
even how to set up a table, -
21:33 - 21:36eat properly at the table or --
-
21:36 - 21:38But no, not enjoying wine yet.
-
21:38 - 21:41(Claudine) No, no, no wine yet,
it's just to give us show, so -- -
21:41 - 21:43(Laughter)
-
21:43 - 21:44(Claudine) Yes, sir?
-
21:44 - 21:47(speaking from the audience)
-
21:52 - 21:57It's a very interesting question.
Do you want to repeat the question? -
21:57 - 22:00(Claudine) The question is
how are the kitchens today -
22:00 - 22:03different than the kitchens
that my father was an apprentice in. -
22:04 - 22:06Pretty dramatic?
-
22:06 - 22:09(Jacques) Yes, well, no... but, yes!
-
22:09 - 22:10(Laughter)
-
22:10 - 22:12There is a permanence there,
the point is that -
22:12 - 22:14you still have to come on time,
-
22:14 - 22:16you still have to be ready to work,
-
22:16 - 22:20you still work in a place which is
very structured, very disciplined, -
22:20 - 22:21like in the army,
-
22:21 - 22:24you don't say, "Yes, captain!",
but you say, "Yes, chef!", -
22:24 - 22:27it's about the same thing
and you have to -- -
22:27 - 22:30you have to, so that
the kitchen works properly. -
22:30 - 22:31You're a member of a team,
-
22:31 - 22:34and if you're late or don't show up
to be part of that team, -
22:34 - 22:36you're going to destroy the structure,
-
22:36 - 22:38so that remains the same.
-
22:38 - 22:41That being said, when I was a kid,
-
22:41 - 22:44we would never up there
to cut a tomato -- -
22:44 - 22:46we only cut it in one direction,
-
22:46 - 22:49we'd never alternate to the other side
when I worked at the Plaza and in Paris, -
22:49 - 22:51or whatever in the fifties.
-
22:51 - 22:53Now, there's a much greater deal
-
22:53 - 22:55and innovation is part of yourself too.
-
22:55 - 23:00And, of course, we,
up to 20-30 years ago -- -
23:00 - 23:06I've been in the kitchen 65-67 years --
-
23:06 - 23:08the cook were at the bottom
of the social scale. -
23:08 - 23:13Any good mother would have wanted
her child to marry a doctor, an architect, -
23:15 - 23:17certainly not a cook.
-
23:17 - 23:20Now we are genius! I don't know
exactly what happened but -- -
23:20 - 23:23this is great, this is terrific,
so it's quite different. -
23:23 - 23:26- (Claudine) Papa, he has a question.
- (Jacques) Yes, sir. -
23:30 - 23:32(René) I have a question for you.
-
23:32 - 23:34You said you're more than 80, right?
-
23:34 - 23:36(Jacques) Yes.
-
23:36 - 23:38(René) I'm 39.
-
23:42 - 23:44I think a lot of cooks
that deal with this -- -
23:46 - 23:48what can I say, like, guilt, sometimes --
-
23:48 - 23:52they feel like they should be yearning
for something in the past, -
23:52 - 23:54that in the past
things were better, kind of -- -
23:55 - 23:59Can you please tell us
-
23:59 - 24:01how it used to be in the kitchen
-
24:01 - 24:04and whether you think
the life in the kitchen is better today, -
24:04 - 24:08and actually, do you think
that food has become better -
24:08 - 24:10- and is becoming better?
- (Jacques) Yes. -
24:10 - 24:13(René) Or, was it better
back in the old days? -
24:14 - 24:17(Jacques) No, it is better,
there's a cycle also -- -
24:17 - 24:20certainly as I said, my mother used
only organic products too -
24:20 - 24:22but that's what we have,
we didn't have anything else, -
24:22 - 24:25so we're going back to that,
which is a great thing, of course; -
24:25 - 24:27to be in communion with the Earth
-
24:27 - 24:29and in communion to where you work,
-
24:29 - 24:31and be local, and so forth.
-
24:31 - 24:33Yes, absolutely.
-
24:33 - 24:34The cooks now still have
-
24:34 - 24:36the same structure
that we used to have -
24:36 - 24:41but you have much more freedom
than we ever had before. -
24:42 - 24:45Certainly, I got kicked in the rear end
a few times by my chefs, -
24:45 - 24:49I mean it was the type of things
that it was supposed at that time -- -
24:49 - 24:51it was supposed to be difficult,
-
24:51 - 24:53you have to go to
a rite of passage and all of that, -
24:53 - 24:55which is not really necessary,
-
24:55 - 24:57you don't need to be yelled at --
-
25:00 - 25:05I've seen a lot of show on television,
certainly, reality show, -
25:05 - 25:09and the kitchen is like mayhem and
the chef is yelling all over the place. -
25:09 - 25:12This is not conducive
to good work, certainly. -
25:13 - 25:16There's a great deal of love, a great deal
of yourself that you put in that food, -
25:16 - 25:21and the yelling and other people too,
the lack of respect, -
25:21 - 25:25those things are not conducive,
in my opinion, to learning well -
25:25 - 25:27and teaching people how to cook.
-
25:27 - 25:31At a certain age, when I was 12-13,
the best way of learning -
25:31 - 25:35was probably through
that kind of osmotic way: -
25:35 - 25:38you look, you repeat,
you look, you repeat, and so forth. -
25:38 - 25:39We passed that level now.
-
25:39 - 25:43Chefs come from cooking schools,
-
25:43 - 25:46they come out from college
to their older time, -
25:46 - 25:49they want to know how to do it,
they want us to explain, -
25:49 - 25:52so it's a different way of teaching
than what we're used to; -
25:52 - 25:55and people are much more in a hurry
than how we were too; -
25:55 - 25:58we had at least three other apprenticeship
without paid or anything, -
25:58 - 26:02so, you know, there are
six apprentices in front of you -- -
26:03 - 26:05so, this is much better now.
-
26:05 - 26:08A much greater respect for the chef,
for what we do for our tradition, -
26:08 - 26:11and this is why, I mean,
we're here today -- -
26:11 - 26:12- Yes?
- (Claudine) Wrap it up. -
26:12 - 26:16(Jacques) Wrap it up. Yes, ma'm, okay.
But I still see one minute -- -
26:16 - 26:17(Claudine) Trust me.
-
26:17 - 26:21(Jacques) I don't know whether
that's the right answer to your question, -
26:21 - 26:24or whether I was not
specific enough but -- -
26:26 - 26:28(René) Can you just say in a yes or no?
-
26:28 - 26:30(Laughter)
-
26:30 - 26:34(Claudine) You'll be the first one
to ever get that answer, if it's possible. -
26:34 - 26:37- (René) If you look back when you were 30
- (Jacques) Right -- -
26:37 - 26:40(René) and you look at kitchens
and chefs and cooking now, -
26:40 - 26:42do you believe that is better now?
-
26:42 - 26:44(Jacques) Oh yes, absolutely,
no question at all. -
26:44 - 26:47- (René) Thank you so much!
- (Jacques) No question at all! -
26:47 - 26:49(Applause)
-
26:53 - 26:57(Claudine) Thank you, of course,
to the MAD team for working there, -
26:57 - 27:01took us all to the extend
that I find extraordinary -
27:01 - 27:03and rather inspiring so,
-
27:03 - 27:05I hope that everyone feels really good
about the work here, -
27:05 - 27:10but, of course, thanks to all of you
for caring so much about what we do -
27:10 - 27:13and about what you do
and bringing it to the next level. -
27:13 - 27:15We hope you have a wonderful,
wonderful couple of days. -
27:15 - 27:17- Thank you!
- (Jacques) We are! -
27:17 - 27:18And drink a lot of wine!
Thank you! -
27:19 - 27:21(Applause and cheering)
-
27:24 - 27:26My daughter, Claudine!
-
27:43 - 27:45- (Jacques) Jose is not here?
- (René) He's here -- -
27:48 - 27:51(Jacques) Okay. Everything I know,
I learned from him, you know. -
27:51 - 27:53(Laughter)
- Title:
- Jacques Pépin at MAD5: "Techniques of the Past for the Future"
- Description:
-
Jacques Pépin is a chef, author, and television host, as well as the dean of the International Culinary Center in New York City. Jacques opened MAD5 with stories from the French kitchens of the 50's, as he demonstrated his own technique by making chicken galatine and teaching the audience to make an omelette.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- Eating With My Five Senses
- Project:
- MAD 5 - Tomorrow's Kitchen
- Duration:
- 28:23
Jenny Lam edited English subtitles for Jacques Pépin at MAD5: "Techniques of the Past for the Future" | ||
Jenny Lam edited English subtitles for Jacques Pépin at MAD5: "Techniques of the Past for the Future" | ||
Jenny_PM edited English subtitles for Jacques Pépin at MAD5: "Techniques of the Past for the Future" | ||
Jenny_PM edited English subtitles for Jacques Pépin at MAD5: "Techniques of the Past for the Future" | ||
Jenny Lam edited English subtitles for Jacques Pépin at MAD5: "Techniques of the Past for the Future" | ||
Jenny Lam edited English subtitles for Jacques Pépin at MAD5: "Techniques of the Past for the Future" | ||
Jenny Lam edited English subtitles for Jacques Pépin at MAD5: "Techniques of the Past for the Future" | ||
Jenny Lam edited English subtitles for Jacques Pépin at MAD5: "Techniques of the Past for the Future" |