'We Loved To Argue' — Jacques Pépin's Favorite Memories Of Julia Child

The French chef Jacques Pépin, now 90 years old, has has an incredible culinary career that spans over 70 years. From hosting charming and informative public television shows to penning more than 30 cookbooks, Pépin has served as an inspiration to many young chefs and amateur home cooks alike. And when he's not in the kitchen, he is even a prolific painter. Throughout the decades, Pépin also spent lots of time working with Julia Child, including on their Daytime Emmy-winning show "Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home". In an exclusive interview with Tasting Table in 2022, Jacques Pépin shared a bit of insight into his long friendship with the late, great Julia Child, recalling their friendly squabbles. 

The two famous chefs were friends for almost 50 years. When recording cooking shows together, the two didn't use recipes, and would decide the day prior to filming what they would cook for the next day. Hence, there was a lot of on-camera improvising with ingredients that were available at hand. "We had different approaches to cooking anything," recalled Pépin. "We always argued and fought, but it was a good argument with a bottle of wine between us." 

Pépin went on to highlight some specific differences of opinion between himself and Child. "I like kosher salt. She didn't like it. I like black pepper and she only liked white pepper, things like that," noted Pépin, before stressing, "which are not very important." 

Another point the two chefs could never agree on was how to handle or clean a whole raw chicken. For decades, Julia Child was a staunch advocate for rinsing raw chicken in the sink before proceeding with any recipe. Pépin, in line with general food safety guidelines, was not a fan of washing raw poultry prior to using it. We should note that in terms of keeping your kitchen a safe and healthy place to eat and prepare food, science supports the stance that washing raw chicken is a bad idea.

What was more important than their differences in culinary preferences was their friendship and shared conviviality, as well as (and in typical French fashion) an appreciation for wine. "We loved to argue and share wine," Jacques Pépin said about their relationship.

It's clear that Pépin and Child had mutual respect for one another and that even though their friendship was often full of disagreements, those tiffs were good-natured and never malicious. Pépin, who appears to stay humble despite his legendary career, which includes 16 James Beard Awards, obviously cherished his time with Child. In fact, he was even the first-ever recipient of The Julia Child Award in 2015. Inspired, Pépin also opened his own foundation focused on culinary education, including providing community kitchens with grants.