Notes from a Food Diva: Jacques

For me, it’s been Pepin time lately.

I‘ve chatted with Jacques at three different events over a 10-day period. The first was a , including Chef Jacques Pepin, for his Royal Highness Prince Robert of Luxembourg.

Jacques’s wife, Gloria, and daughter, Claudine, who often appeared in the kitchen with him on television, were there. In the new TV series, “Pepin Essentials,” his granddaughter, Shorey, will be learning and licking the spoon. Les Dames d’Escoffier made $83,000 from the proceeds from the event’s silent auction to fund our Make-a-Difference Scholarships, which are awarded yearly.

The next time we met was at Les Dames’ annual meeting held at the French Culinary Institute in the International Theater. He and Lutece owner Andre Surmain, both of whom are vice presidents and deans of the Institute, joined us for a glass of wine.

Number three was the James Beard Foundation’s Beard on Books, a monthly talk by some of the best cookbook authors. Jacques spoke about the latest of his 26 cookbooks, which is a compilation of 700 recipes selected from his life in food. Many of these recipes are updated for today’s cooking.

Over the years, Jacques championed keeping it simple. He has not been afraid to make changes or to keep up with our tastes in cooking.  

Jacques is a master of technique. No one is better with a sharp knife and, of course, continually emphasizes that a sharp knife is the most important tool in the kitchen.

“Technique is something that can be taught,” he says, “but unless, the person has talent, he will not become a great chef.”

I even chanced upon NPR’s talk show host Brian Lehrer as he interviewed Jacques on the publication of his latest book, which was dedicated to Gloria, who has been his wife for 45 years.

My association with Jacques goes back a long way. In the early 1980s, M.F.K. Fisher became a Grande Dame at the New York Public Library and her very good friend, Julia Child, was there. Jacques was photographed with them at the reception. It is one of my most prized photos.

Back in the days when I skied, I learned of the group of chefs who had second homes at Hunter Mountain, which is where Pasta Primavera was born one weekend. Jacques had a horrible ski accident and all the chefs banded together to see him through it.

When American Airlines inaugurated a flight to Lyon, I won a trip over. My husband, Emil, and I located and had supper at Jacques’s mother’s Lyon restaurant, Chez Pepin, with cuisine bourgeoise (freshest local) and cuisine menagere (home cooking) before hiring a car and driving to Provence, then up to Dijon and back to Lyon for the return flight.

Jacques has always been most generous to me and Les Dames with his time and talent. Upon request, he came to the New York Institute of Technology’s de Seversky Mansion in old Westbury as the honored guest speaker at the Great Neck Adult Program’s dinner. The traffic was frightful on 25A as it often was before the overpass in Roslyn was built. He didn’t arrive until the main course.

When “Cooking with Les Dames d’ Escoffier” was published, Jacques is quoted on the book jacket: “I was raised, shaped and formed by the food of professional women chefs…the recipes of Les Dames d’Escoffier reveals the brilliance and creativity of women in the kitchen.”

Over the years, whenever Les Dames asked him to do a menu cover for one of their black tie dinners, he got busy with his paintbrush and graciously obliged. In fact, it’s fascinating to see his style change with the latest. At a fundraiser, Chef Lidia Bastianich, bought his framed original for $3,000.

And just in time for Thanksgiving, here is a recipe from Jacques that is included in his new cookbook, “Pepin Essentials.”

Little Corn Fritters

These little fritters serve four as a first-course and are a treat served with an aperitif or drinks before a meal or as an accompaniment for soup. You can prepare them a few hours ahead and reheat them on a wire rack set over a cookie sheet in a 375-degree oven for a few minutes.

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons cornstarch

½ teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1/3 cup ice-cold water

2 large ears corn, husked and kernels cut off (2 cups)

6 tablespoons canola oil

Mix flour, cornstarch, baking powder and half the salt together in a bowl. Add the egg and ¼ cup of the water and mix with a whisk until smooth. Add the remainder of the water and mix until smooth. Mix in the corn kernels.

Heat three tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet until hot. Drop one tablespoon of batter into the skillet for each fritter, making 10 fritters, and cook over medium-high heat for three to four minutes on each side, until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack (this will keep them from becoming soggy) and repeat with the remaining batter and oil. Sprinkle them with the remaining salt and serve immediately.