Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen, The
I am going to start this review by stating that this is probably one of the best memoirs I have read, certainly the best by a chef. The book is clearly delineated into the timeline of his life, making for easy reading. Plus, Pepin has a flair for the descriptive, making the food and the events of his life—irrevocably intertwined—jump to life.
Pepin was a child during the German occupation of France during World War II. Food was scarce and rationed in Paris, so his mother sent him and his brother to work on farms in the countryside around Paris. Unlike the city, food was simple yet plentiful on the farms. One of his first meals had had after arriving was a “yellowish brown porridge, called gaudes,â€
Jacques Pepin - Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen, The - 10
Moderators: clong, Mr. Titanic
-
violetblue
- Viking Skald
- Posts: 1200
- Joined: Fri Aug 26, 2005 11:57 am
Jacques Pepin - Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen, The - 10
N is for NEVILLE, who died of ennui
--Edward Gorley
--Edward Gorley
Ok, read the book, and enjoyed it very much. Definitely worth the cover price.
I have a tremendous amount of respect for J.P. - he was, and is, one of my favorite "celebrity chefs". He's the epitome of 'old school' - he came up the old fashioned way, from the very bottom, via the old european apprentice system. He's been heavily cross-trained in everything, and he's pretty much seen and done it all ... at both the home, public, government, corporate, educational, TV, and literary levels, and at every level of society, both poor and rich.
However, although I'd be inclined to give him a perfect 10 (in terms of his culinary resume, immensely interesting life path, and impact on our American culinary trends) ... I'd only give the quality of the prose in this memoir an 8. I think Ruhlman and Bourdain, are both better writers. Even Ruth Reichl (about whom I have somewhat mixed feelings) wrote with a bit more passion and verve ... even though her professional culinary resume is much less impressive. She was a wordsmith by profession, and it showed.
Pepin's writing style is somewhat tepid, light and breezy, and a bit understated. At times, reading it sorta felt akin to listening to Mozart on a 33 LP mono - the material was gripping, but the way it came across lost some of the hoped for color.
I have a tremendous amount of respect for J.P. - he was, and is, one of my favorite "celebrity chefs". He's the epitome of 'old school' - he came up the old fashioned way, from the very bottom, via the old european apprentice system. He's been heavily cross-trained in everything, and he's pretty much seen and done it all ... at both the home, public, government, corporate, educational, TV, and literary levels, and at every level of society, both poor and rich.
However, although I'd be inclined to give him a perfect 10 (in terms of his culinary resume, immensely interesting life path, and impact on our American culinary trends) ... I'd only give the quality of the prose in this memoir an 8. I think Ruhlman and Bourdain, are both better writers. Even Ruth Reichl (about whom I have somewhat mixed feelings) wrote with a bit more passion and verve ... even though her professional culinary resume is much less impressive. She was a wordsmith by profession, and it showed.
Pepin's writing style is somewhat tepid, light and breezy, and a bit understated. At times, reading it sorta felt akin to listening to Mozart on a 33 LP mono - the material was gripping, but the way it came across lost some of the hoped for color.
-
violetblue
- Viking Skald
- Posts: 1200
- Joined: Fri Aug 26, 2005 11:57 am
I understand your point, but I found his understatement rather refreshing. In this age of "in your face" tell-all, he is a gentleman. I think his writing reflected this attitude--for example, when talking about Craig Claiborne (is that right? i'm thinking of the old food editor for the NY Times), he was very circumspect about speaking poorly of an old friend who had fallen on bad times. Now we want Gordon Ramsay's (whom I like, actually) and other chefs with bold styles, which tend to make a bit more old-fashioned chefs like Pepin fade into the woodwork. If I were to have dinner with Pepin, I picture him being one of those wonderful hosts who make you feel like you are truly honoring them with your presence. You know you will be pampered and entertained the entire meal, and walk away, relaxed, with rosy memories. Ramsay's food would be very good, the company entertaining, and the pace frentic. It would be memorable but exhausting.
Speaking of Reichl being more of a wordsmith, I am actually reading Kitchen Con by Trevor White right now. It is about the restaurant business from the critic's point of view. Reichl is mentioned. His point is that food critics ARE professional wordsmiths, as you said--that they know how to eat food, but not how to prepare it. It's not bad. I'm going to do a review when I'm done.
Speaking of Reichl being more of a wordsmith, I am actually reading Kitchen Con by Trevor White right now. It is about the restaurant business from the critic's point of view. Reichl is mentioned. His point is that food critics ARE professional wordsmiths, as you said--that they know how to eat food, but not how to prepare it. It's not bad. I'm going to do a review when I'm done.
N is for NEVILLE, who died of ennui
--Edward Gorley
--Edward Gorley
Oh, I firmly agree with you ... I’d prefer a chance to cook and/or dine with Pepin 100x more than a similar chance with Reichl. Also agreed on your point about Craig Clairborne. Reichl, for instance, painted a rather unflattering picture of him in her books, whereas Pepin’s account seemed more balanced and gentlemanly ... and also covered a period when CC was apparently much more physically and mentally healthy, as well as being from the vantage point of a friend and guest, rather than a successor/replacement (Reichl).
In any case, I wasn’t really looking for (pardon the pun) saucy details, controversy, or tell alls ... that’s more Bourdain and Reichl’s schtick (and I wanted to slap the latter for it, because she went too far at times). No. I just felt that Pepin’s prose seemed to lack, in a purely linguistic sense, a little vibrancy ... like the memories he was recapping were no longer at peak freshness in his mind, and that the text fell a little shy of the real-life events they’re trying to recapture. Think whipped egg whites that aren’t quite peaking properly ... still very serviceable, but not perfect ... or perhaps a ceviche that was allowed to marinate an hour too long, and is starting to get a tiny but mushy/murky in it’s flavor.
It’s a subtle and purely subjective point – don’t read too much into it.
In any case, I wasn’t really looking for (pardon the pun) saucy details, controversy, or tell alls ... that’s more Bourdain and Reichl’s schtick (and I wanted to slap the latter for it, because she went too far at times). No. I just felt that Pepin’s prose seemed to lack, in a purely linguistic sense, a little vibrancy ... like the memories he was recapping were no longer at peak freshness in his mind, and that the text fell a little shy of the real-life events they’re trying to recapture. Think whipped egg whites that aren’t quite peaking properly ... still very serviceable, but not perfect ... or perhaps a ceviche that was allowed to marinate an hour too long, and is starting to get a tiny but mushy/murky in it’s flavor.
It’s a subtle and purely subjective point – don’t read too much into it.