House Tile, Jacques Pépin
notes: label: Description
content: This hand-painted ceramic tile measures roughly 8” x 12” and is about ½” thick. It was designed by Chef Jacques Pépin, as a decorative house number tile for his Connecticut home. The numbers “214” are rendered in French blue and partially formed by the lithe bodies of orange fish. Culinary herbs and kitchen tools provide a border, reflecting Pépin’s love of cooking and food. While most widely known as a chef, Pépin is also an artist, who believes that “cooking and painting live in harmony together.” He has illustrated menus and books, and has created ceramic tiles and paintings for a wide variety of culinary-related organizations and fundraising events.
label: Description
content: Born in 1935 in the French town of Bourg-en-Bresse, near Lyon, Jacques Pépin is widely known as a chef, artist, television star, and author. He has written more than two dozen cookbooks, including the classics La Technique: An Illustrated Guide to the Fundamental Techniques of Cooking in 1976 and La Methode, in 1979.
label: Description
content: Pépin’s love for cooking began at a young age, first assisting in his parents’ restaurant, Le Pelican, and then, at age 17, apprenticing at the Grand Hotel de l’Europe in Paris. He continued perfecting his craft in Paris, where he served as the personal chef to three French heads of state including Charles de Gaulle. In 1959, he moved to the United States, settling in New York City and landing a job at the esteemed French restaurant Le Pavillon. From 1960 to 1970 he served as the director of research and development for the Howard Johnson’s restaurant chain, and earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Columbia University.
label: Description
content: Over many years Jacques Pépin has shared his love of cooking by teaching in the culinary arts program at Boston University (a program he co-founded with Julia Child) and serving as Dean of Special Programs at the International Culinary Center in New York City. Among his numerous television cooking shows was the series, Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home, on PBS that won an Emmy award and a James Beard Foundation award in 2001. His 2015 series and book, Heart & Soul in the Kitchen, reflects the kind of food he prepares at home with family and friends.
label: Description
content: On August 13, 2015, The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts selected Jacques Pépin the first recipient of the Julia Child Award, in recognition of his achievements in promoting the culinary arts. Upon receiving the Julia Child Award, Pépin donated objects, illustrated menus, and documents reflecting his life in food and the culinary arts to the National Museum of American History. The objects include kitchen tools Pépin designed in the early 2000s in partnership with Lunt Silversmiths. The archival materials are housed in the Museum’s Archives Center as the Jacques Pépin Papers, 1952-2015.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Food Technology
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content: Food
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Jacques Pépin
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2015.0301.09
label: catalog number
content: 2015.0301.09
label: accession number
content: 2015.0301
objectType: label: Object Name
content: tile
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: ceramic (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 7 7/8 in x 11 3/4 in x 1/2 in; 20.0025 cm x 29.845 cm x 1.27 cm