Pittsburgh Botanic benefit honors celebrity French chef
The culinary team collaborating on the upcoming dinner to honor Jacques Pepin could have saved themselves a lot of trouble.
His dream meal?
“Bread and butter,” says the legendary chef in his charming French accent. “To have the greatest possible bread in the world and the greatest possible butter is very hard to beat.”
The dinner in question is the “French Garden to Table,” a signature-event fundraiser for Pittsburgh Botanic Garden, set for Nov. 19 at the Duquesne Club, Downtown. Over the past few years, the chef dinner series has included the likes of “Barefoot Contessa” Ina Garten, Thomas Keller and culinary pioneer Alice Waters.
“Each of them has had their own personalities and we designed the dinner and the event around them,” says Nancy Byrnes of Nancy Byrnes Events. “Each chef has their own little twist of followers. Ina Garten was the home cook's cook. Thomas Keller was the chef's chef … and Alice Waters, respected for her pioneering of garden food-to-table California cuisine.”
Adding the name of Pepin to the series' resume is quite the coup. The 81-year-old — born near Lyon, France, the son of restaurateurs — began a formal apprenticeship at 13. He eventually worked in Paris and became the personal chef of Charles de Gaulle. Pepin moved to the United States in 1959. He has published 26 books and hosted 10 public-television cooking series, including “Julia & Jacques: Cooking at Home” with Julia Child.
He has been awarded the French Legion of Honor (2007), the Chevalier de L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (1997) and the Chevalier de L'Ordre du Merite Agricole (1992).
A Renaissance man, Pepin is a gifted artist — and he agreed to illustrate the menu for the event. He earned a master's degree in 18th-century French literature from Columbia University. He holds the title of dean of special programs at the French Culinary Institute in New York and is an adjunct faculty member at Boston University.
It is with pride the Botanic Garden welcomes Pepin.
“Pittsburgh has become a No. 1 food destination, which was unheard of a short time ago,” says Bill Kolano of Kolano Designs, a Botanic Garden supporter for about 20 years. He is on the architecture committee and the committee for this event — “It's my baby.”
“We have wonderful chefs in the city who come together to orchestrate the dinner for this food visionary,” he says.
The dinner's culinary leadership team, headed by Duquesne Club executive chef Keith Coughenour, includes some outstanding local chefs, such as Andrew Garbarino of The Twisted Frenchman and pastry chef Casey Renee of Whitfield at the Ace Hotel, among its crew.
Planning began in April, after Pepin accepted the invitation.
“I encouraged them to remember that Jacques Pepin is French and classically trained, but his manner is very relaxed and not as fussy as some,” Byrnes says. “His career has centered around creating great food around the basics and enjoying them in a relaxed manner. That was part of what I tried to inspire them about.”
Menu proposals culminated in a “cook-off” tasting in the Duquesne Club kitchen in October. The idea was to create a distinctive meal to honor Pepin and to entice the expected foodie crowd.
“It's super-important that the real tribute to these chefs is that we customize and create a dinner in their honor,” Byrnes says. “The glory is in the attention to detail in what we serve everyone, but our full intent is to honor the chef and please them as part of the tribute.”
Diners can expect exquisite bites such as Foie Torchon with rose-hip jam on walnut-raisin crisp; the Carrot Mousse on pistachio brioche; and Smoked Rainbow Trout Terrine.
Country French appetites will be sated with the multiple layers of textures and flavors in the Potato Leek Soup with caviar, parsley froth and roasted maitake. Because rabbit is a favorite of Pepin, Braised Rabbit Leg will be served as an entree with Country Sausage Farce and Sweetbread Stuffed in Cabbage.
The long list of dessert buffet choices will delight the senses — Pear Cranberry Tart Tatin, Chocolate Mousse Torte, Roasted Apple Tart and Champagne en Gelee, to name a few.
“The Duquesne Club kitchen is basically limitless as to what they can produce,” Byrnes says. “And the fact that Keith (Coughenour) is willing to invite other chefs — and welcome other chefs — only makes it better. It just wouldn't be a special event if it were the same meal you could have at any other event.”
Back to basics
The mission of the Botanic Garden goes hand in hand with Pepin's philosophy of food and cooking.
“The Botanic Garden is trying to get people in touch with nature once again,” Kolano says. “More and more of us are living in the city. We're becoming disconnected from outdoor experiences and where our food comes from. So this event is really a celebration of how everyone is gardening and taking it to a higher level of what's on everyone's tables.”
As an early proponent of the slow-cook movement, Pepin believes in cooking local, eating fresh. Simplicity with the best ingredients is his directive.
“There is no question that the freshest ingredients you can get, and the less you fool around with it, the best it is,” he says.
Cooking and sharing a meal are equally essential.
“Food for me is maybe the purest expression of love,” Pepin says, “because you always cook for the other. I don't really know many people who will do a whole banquet and souffle and get dressed and sit by yourself at the table. That's pretty depressing.
“You always cook for the other. And it can be your kid or your wife or your friend or your parents. It's a pure expression of love you get through food.”
Those who feel intimidated by the kitchen can heed his advice:
“Start with a glass of wine,” he says with his typical humor. “That helps.”
Several of Pepin's cookbooks are aimed at those beginners, as well as busy families who struggle to put a meal on the table every night. His “Fast Food My Way” and “More Fast Food My Way,” both based on his PBS series by the same names, are terrific for the novice chef.
“You can start with very simple things, a very simple recipe,” he says. “You pick up a few and you become familiar with them and you improve them. You make them so they are your own taste, your own sense of aesthetic.”
This wise man, who gives such kindness and good- humored understanding in his teaching, is not finished yet.
“Even though I am over 80 years old now, I realize I have a lot to learn,” he says. “It's like peeling an onion. There are layer upon layer upon layer of one thing or another. And you realize you don't know much and you have a great deal to learn.
“And that's good. That keeps me going.”
Sally Quinn is a Tribune-Review contributing writer.
