I Taped My First Series For Pbs

When I Left To Go Into Apprenticeship In 1949, It Was Only Four Years After The War, And People Don't Realize, We Still Had Tickets For Butter, Meat And So Forth In France Until 1947. It's Not Like The End Of The War, Everything Was Plentiful - It Wasn't.

The Idea Of Old Was To Conform Yourself To A Style Of Cooking, It Was Not To Create A Style Of Cooking. Now The Chef Is So Much Into 'i Want To Sign That Dish And Say I Am The One Who Made That Dish.

Most People Who Came Here Came For Economic Reasons Or Sometimes For Religious Or Political Reasons. I Didn't Have Any Of This. I Came Here, I Liked It, I Stayed. So I'm A Pure American - Even More Than People Who Are Born Here - Because I Did It By Choice As An Adult.

I Have An Immigrant Story. Most People Come Here For Economic Reasons, Or Religious Reasons, Or Racial Reasons, Or Gender Reasons, Or One Of Those Things. I Had A Good Job In Paris, But America Was, And Still Is, The Golden Fleece. And I've Done Very Well!

I Taped My First Series For Pbs In 1982 At Wjct-tv In Jacksonville, Florida. The Show, Called 'everyday Cooking With Jacques Pepin,' Was About Saving Time And Money In The Kitchen - And It Was A Celebration Of Simple And Unpretentious Food.