Jacques Pepin The Essential Pepin

This is one of Jacques Pepin's best series. Essential Pepin is one of the true treasures and if you love to cook, Jacques not only delivers, but teaches great technique and a true passion for the art of cooking. He always encourages or comments on substitutions or other flavors that can be added to dishes, and keeps them simple. He is a true master of his craft and an awesome teacher. Thank you Jacques for a great set. Read more

Masterfully simplified classic cooking techniques by a master chef. Pepin, a contemporary of the great Julia Child, who has the same teaching style that emphasizes the simplicity of making elegant, classic dishes that YOU CAN make perfectly for family and friends. Read more

This dvd set is a must have accompaniment to his book, Essential Pepin, which distills all his recipes into one HUGE book. Jacques explains everything so well, and he is so comfortable and adept in the kitchen, that one can't help but pick up some valuable tips. Frankly, I think that he should be given the title as a national treasure in both France and the USA. I've always wished that Jacques was my next door neighbor, so that I could sample his cooking. This video set highlights a great variety of recipes, which are divided into categories such as meat, fish, egg dishes, desserts, etc. I find that the programs go by far too quickly on TV, so it is a wonderful luxury to be able to review his procedures and advice, as often as I wish. The recipe selection is wonderful, easy to learn, follow, and to recreate. The DVD's are extremely well made and expertly presented. Jacques technique is masterful. He does so many things at the highest skill level. His knife skills are tremendous. If one wants to get better at cooking, one has to watch someone much better to learn how to do things properly. Jacques Pepin is probably in the top five of the best chefs of all time. These DVDs are money well spent, and I have greatly enjoyed them. I highly recommend these DVDs, and his book. This is Essential Pepin. Read more

It's essential. It's Jaque Pepin after all. He's one the great ones. and book is a field guide to your own kitchen. The basics. Stuff you got to know. Like this: Don't steam or boil asparagus! You'll lose all the flavor to the water. Ok. You caught me. That tip is from Gordon Ramsay. But Pepin boils over with such, "Why didn't any tell me this before?" tips. Read more

Mr. Pepin is a certified master and certainly the best teaching chef out there. This book is well worth the money with hundreds of quality recipes ranging from simple to complex. I would highly recommend also buying the three CD companion (not the lone CD that comes with the book), particularly if you have not watched the PBS series of the same name. The CD's cover something like 130 of the 700 plus recipes in the book and are taken from the TV show. Working from the recipe alone can be a handicap in some cases because where it may appear, for example, to be very complex from the reading, as you watch Mr. Pepin prepare it you realize that it is easier than you thought. And the CD's are well worth the investment in their own right; Mr. Pepin is entertaining and informative. And to be able to watch the video and then prepare the dish is special. If you can't learn something from Jacques Pepin you must have otherworldly talent. Some readers have noted that there are no photos. True but not a fatal flaw. The CD's make up for it. Read more

Wonderful DVD that is lots of fun to watch again and again. Chef Pepin continues his charming presentations by either cooking for the viewers himself, or having occasional guests join him as he prepares and explains lots of delightful things in the "home kitchen" looking studio where the DVD was recorded. The menu structure of the DVD also lets you go directly to the dish you want to watch chef Pepin make, organized by ingredients and title. I love learning so much about various ingredients and dishes from chef Pepin's DVD, and swapping the various techniques I learn around with different foods and creations. Can't wait to buy some more of the chef's many DVDs and books. Read more

A world famous chef and classically trained/educated. Winner of numerous James Beard awards. What impressed me about this DVD was his simple and elegant approach to culinary arts that can be applied to everyday cooks. His accent (French) is somewhat difficult to understand sometimes, but the video does an awesome job of clarifying the process of a recipe. Read more

Jacques Pepin has stepped into the large footprints left by Julia Child. Explaining in his wonderful accent, how we can (and I do!) replicate his dishes in our own kitchens, Monsieur Pepin, provides charming dialogue with his patient explanations. The recipes and dishes I have tried have looked like the professional version, tasted wonderful, and impressed both me and my boyfriend. Not all the recipes are for French food, Mr. Pepin's forte, and there are a variety of dishes that can be made from watching the DVDs. What I love most about watching Jacques Pepin is his simple style which creates dishes which appear complex and time-consuming. Read more