Jacques Pépin - A grandfathers lessons in the kitchen with Shorey

Copyright 2017 by Jacques Ppin

Photographs 2017 by Tom Hopkins

All rights reserved.

For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to or to Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 3 Park Avenue, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10016.

www.hmhco.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Ppin, Jacques, author.

Title: A grandfathers lessons : in the kitchen with Shorey / Jacques Ppin; photographs by Tom Hopkins.

Description: Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, [2017] | Includes index.

Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017010371 (print) | LCCN 2017011265 (ebook) | ISBN 9780544824393 (paper over board) | ISBN 9780544824409 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Cooking. | Fathers and daughters. | LCGFT: Cookbooks.

Classification: LCC TX714 (ebook) | LCC TX714.P4535 2017 (print) | DDC 641.5dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017010371

Book design by Endpaper Studio

v3.0917

To my son-in-law, Rollie, and all fathers who cook with their daughters to create unique and unforgettable memories

LIKE MOST OF MY BOOKS, A Grandfathers Lessons originated in our daily life. Ive been cooking in the kitchen with my granddaughter, Shorey, since she was about six years old, showing her how to make chocolate trufflessince she, like most children, loves chocolateand answering questions she asked about cooking, life, and school. We always have fun being together, cooking together, spending time together.

So we continued going to the garden, to the beach, picking wild leeks and mushrooms, collecting eggs directly from the chickens, and going to the market. She enjoyed all things associated with cooking and had a great time, as I did. Eventually, when she appeared on one of my shows, I realized that, like her mother (but unlike her grandmother!), she was very comfortable on television.

One thing led to another, and I finally said, Why dont we write a book showing the relationship between a grandfather and a granddaughter and how it can be enhanced and made better by spending time together in the kitchen? Why not film some 8- to 10-minute shows together that demonstrate simple recipes and the fun of cooking together? At some point, Shorey started drawing in her book of menus at home and in mine. She loves to paint and draw, and this became part of her tradition. Of course, just like any book, A Grandfathers Lessons needed a lot of coordinating and a lot of help to accomplish.

I want to thank my wife, Gloria, for putting up with us in the kitchen; Claudine for helping advise Shorey and directing her; and my son-in-law, Rollie, to whom I have dedicated this book in appreciation for his enthusiasm for the project and his love, ideas, and help in the kitchen when we taped or took pictures for this book and the videos.

I thank Norma Galehouse, my assistant of more than thirty years, for helping me put yet another book together and for her good-natured help.

I certainly want to thank Tom Hopkins a great deal for his friendship and photographic sensibility and for shooting hundreds and hundreds of pictures of Shorey and me cooking or just having fun together. Im also grateful for his good ideas for the project and for working on the filming of the video segments to go with some of the recipes. I want to thank Rich Kosenski, who assisted Tom during the photo sessions.

Thank you to Sur La Table for sponsoring the video lessons, which express more than just the recipes themselves and help demonstrate the relationship between Shorey and me. Thanks, too, to Pete and Chris, for their video expertise.

I thank Rux Martin, my editor, for her confidence in and help with the project. Thanks, too, to Doe Coover, my agent, who, as always, was very involved and had great ideas for the production of the book as well as the videos.

More than anyone else, of course, I thank my coworker, my granddaughter, Shorey, for her love, her kindness, and for working with me so well. Shorey likes to draw, as I do, and she helped me with the illustrations for the book and the choice of drawings. She made me look terrific! I love her, and this book will cement our love even more.

Finally, my gratitude to everyone involved in the production of this book or the television segments. Im grateful for your help and your dedication.

The best meal Ive ever had happens almost every day. A homemade meal with fresh, organic ingredients shared by family and friends.

Shorey

I HAVE ALWAYS COOKED FOR MY FAMILY. Even when I was a child, I cooked with my mother or for her or for my brothers or my fatherand later on, for my wife, Gloria, and for my daughter, Claudine. I held Claudine in my arms when she was a couple of years old and let her stir the soup pot or mix the salad. She would get all excited and insist that she had made it, and she could not wait to taste it. It was her production. It is important to have a child spend time in the kitchenthe most secure, comfortable, loving place in the house. The smell of food cooking, your mothers or fathers voice, the clang of the utensils, and the taste of the food: These memories will stay with you for the rest of your life. The purpose of this simple book about cooking with Shorey, my granddaughter, is to show how spending time together in the kitchen can enhance your life as well as your relationship.

My cooking has changed a great deal in the last thirty years, but regardless of the style or the food, traditions remain important at our house. Sitting down together for dinner is an essential part of our daily life. In this book, I wanted to cook things with my granddaughter that she likes, and I also wanted to teach her easy, logical steps that she could understand. I wanted to prepare food that is simple but elegant, and, more than anything, I wanted it to be fun. I have always liked to simplify the steps of cooking to get to the essentials, and I always place more emphasis on taste than on presentation. I wanted Shorey to tell me, Papi, this is really good! Like most children, she is very honestif she likes something, she tells you; if she doesnt, she tells you that as well.