The Cheeky Reason Jacques Pépin Keeps His Beer Next To Truffles

It's always fun to have a surprise flex up your sleeve for guests, whether that's a massive television, or some fancy champagne that just happens to be sitting out waiting for the right moment. Having an "oh, that old thing?" feature in your house is a cheeky yet deliciously enjoyable trap to lay for folks you want to impress. Jacques Pépin, the iconic French celebrity chef, cookbook author, and food television presenter, told Dan Pashman about one of his more devious hosting tricks on the Sporkful podcast. When Pashman asks why Pépin has a habit of storing beer next to the truffles in his fridge, Pépin explains: "Because if people ask you, 'Do you have a beer?' you say, 'Yeah, yeah. It's next to the truffle in the refrigerator.'"

That's a social checkmate from Pépin, who throughout his career has enjoyed "combining highbrow and lowbrow", as Pashman puts it. Directing your guests, who are simply in search of a cold beer, to a shelf holding fresh truffles (a bougie ingredient most people won't have in their homes) is pretty bold. Depending on your priorities, it may also be one of the best ways to use truffles.

Pépin is a true example of someone who enjoys the finer things in life, but takes a pragmatic, down-to-earth approach to food and drink. Case in point: Pépin's simple English muffin hack for hamburgers. Similarly, in the same episode of "Sporkful", Pashman seems somewhat taken aback when Pépin opts to drink the beer he's offered from a paper cup. You may think there's a classy reason behind this, but Pépin jokes that it's simply because he's a "slob" who would likely spill on himself if he drank from the bottle. It seems that it's this everyday culture shock that really floats Pépin's boat. The chef's love of criss-crossing high and lowbrow food and playing with people's expectations is evidenced in his pranks, and his legendary cooking. 

There are a few ways to emulate Pépin's mastery of the subtle flex. For example, you can use an expert's advice to find reasonably priced caviar and pop it casually in your refrigerator. Next time you have friends over, you can say, "Would you mind grabbing the cheese dip? It's just in the fridge next to the caviar." They might think you're joking... at first.