Hell, I’m still trying to replicate the expert manner in which he so effortlessly fashions his classic French four-egger. But like Steve Martin in Only Murders in the Building, I often find myself tossing the yellow matter custard in the trash. Goo-goo g’joob.
This year (on Dec. 18, to be exact), Pépin turns 90 years young and the Jacques Pépin Foundation is marking the occasion with special “90/90” dinners to honor the master of French cookery. That’s 90 dinners hosted by chefs across the country, including right here in Orlando, where Florida’s very own culinary legend — Norman Van Aken — will curate a five-course dinner and cocktail reception Friday, Feb. 28, at 5 p.m.
Proceeds from the dinner and add-on cocktail reception (tickets here), will benefit the Jacques Pépin Foundation, an organization Pepin’s daughter Claudine and her husband, Rollie Wesen, helped create in 2016. The foundation supports education in the culinary arts and community-based kitchens that offer culinary training to adults with high barriers to employment. That includes those impacted by the justice system, those experiencing homelessness, individuals in recovery and others who have been underserved.
As we witness the gulf between the rich and poor widening in this country, Pépin stresses the urgency of the work his foundation undertakes.
“It is more important than ever,” he says. “Food is an equalizer. It brings people together, no matter their background. Culinary education gives people the tools to cook well without spending too much money, to feed a family, care for friends, make a living and enjoy life.”
Dinner attendees will certainly be living the life, indulging in a menu prepared by an all-star lineup of chefs including Ryan Ratino (Ômo by Jônt), Wendy Lopez (Reyes Mezcaleria), Clay Miller (Ravenous Pig), Mario Pagán (Chayote), Stefan Riemer (Walt Disney World), Camilo Velasco (Tiffins), Ryne Wood (Bacan), Andres Mendoza (Citricos) and the Norman’s Orlando team, including chef de cuisine Carlos Robles-Molina, pastry chef Gloriann Rivera and sous chef Kyle Rhodes.
And the impact Pépin’s work — he’s authored more than 30 books and has been a PBS and YouTube fixture for more than a quarter-century — has had on the chefs who’ll be in attendance is undeniable.
A near-fatal car accident in 1974 forced Pépin to pivot his career from restaurant chef to cooking personality, but the influence he wielded in restaurant kitchens, and the giving manner in which he conducted himself, is still felt today. Even among younger-generation chefs like Mendoza.
“He taught us that great cooking is about skill, heart and bringing people together,” says Mendoza. “It’s why I make every effort to master the basics, cherish simplicity and cook with love.”
“I like an organized kitchen with rules,” Pépin says. “A kitchen where the cook leads in a generous atmosphere of giving and sharing. I do not like yelling, fighting or intimidating in a kitchen. It does nothing to help people learn.”
Pagán, the highly lauded chef of Chayote in Winter Park, is another superfan and calls Pépin an “inspiration” for his scholarship and natural cooking style. “I’ve practically watched all episodes of Julia & Jacques Cooking at Home and all his other shows,” he says. “I met him while I was cooking at the Aspen Food & Wine Festival in 2007 and he was gracious enough to have a little conversation with me. He’s so very knowledgeable. That’s why he’s the the real OG, and the cook of cooks.”
“I am happy, humbled and astonished to hear of Orlando’s generosity,” Pépin says about the proclamation. “I do appreciate all the people that I know — and the ones that I don’t — who are so kind and generous to me and my Foundation. My personal thanks to chef Norman for his kindness and generosity and being such a great member of our culinary world.”
The biggest question, of course, is will Jacques Pépin attend the Orlando dinner?
“Without promising, the Foundation asked for us to set aside a table for his daughter, Claudine, her husband, Rollie, and even for him!” That’s not a guarantee Pépin will be at the Orlando dinner (he is almost 90 years old, after all) but, as Van Aken says, “that they asked is amazing.”
Of the bites being served during the cocktail reception, one will be especially dear to Pépin’s heart — the arroz con pollo being prepared by Pagán. The dish was a favorite of Pépin’s wife, Gloria, who passed away Dec. 5, 2020.
Her mother was Puerto Rican, so, it’s fitting that Pagán, one of the most notable chefs to hail from the island, is being charged with preparing the dish. “I’m really honored to make it in memory of his late wife,” says Pagán. “Being Puerto Rican, Gloria loved arroz con pollo, so I’m going to deconstruct that dish into one bite.”
She and Pépin were married for 54 years and he still feels her loss deeply. A Facebook video he posted a day before Gloria passed shows Pépin making his wife’s beloved dish. “I think my wife will be happy with it,” he says towards the end of the clip.
When I ask him if there’s one person he could cook for, who would that be, his response is definite: “Gloria.”
Jacques Pépin 90/90 Dinner
5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28
Norman’s Orlando
7924 Via Dellagio Way
Tickets: $240; $75 add-on cocktail reception
Proceeds to benefit the Jacques Pépin Foundation
Norman’s
Subscribe to Orlando Weekly newsletters.
Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Bluesky | Or sign up for our RSS Feed
This article appears in Jan 29 – Feb 4, 2025.