Bio
Jeff Gordinier
Jeff Gordinier joined the New York Times in January 2011 as a Dining reporter. He is the author of X Saves the World, which drew acclaim from writers such as Nick Hornby and Douglas Rushkoff. He has written for a variety of magazines and newspapers, including Details, Esquire, GQ, Elle, Spin, Creative Nonfiction, Outside, The Los Angeles Times, PoetryFoundation.org and Entertainment Weekly. His work has been included
in anthologies such as Best American Nonrequired Reading, Best Food Writing, and Best Creative Nonfiction.
Jacques Pepin
Jacques Pépin is one of America's best-known chefs, cookbook authors, and cooking
teachers. He has published 26 books and numerous articles and has hosted 10 acclaimed
public television cooking series. His series and companion cookbook
Jacques Pépin:
More Fast Food My Way debuted in 2008, and is a follow-up to his previous PBS-
TV series and cookbook,
Jacques Pépin: Fast Food My Way.
Mr. Pépin was born
in Bourg-en-Bresse near Lyon, where his first exposure to cooking was as a child in
his parents' restaurant, Le Pélican. At thirteen, he began his formal apprenticeship at
the distinguished Grand Hotel de L'Europe in his hometown. He subsequently worked
in Paris, training under Lucien Diat at the Plaza Athénée, and acting as personal chef
to Charles de Gaulle as well as two other French heads of state from 1956 to 1958.
After moving to the United States in 1959, he first worked at New York's historic Le
Pavillon before spending ten years as director of research and new development for the
Howard Johnson Company, a position that taught him about mass production, marketing,
food chemistry, and American food tastes. Mr. Pépin also continued his academic studies
during this time and earned a M.A. in 18th-century French literature from Columbia
University in 1972. A former columnist for The New York Times, he now writes a
quarterly column for Food & Wine magazine.
In 2004, Mr. Pépin received France's
highest civilian honor, the French Legion of Honor and has also been conferred with two
more high honors from the Fren Chevalier de L'Ordre du Mérite Agricole in 1992. He
has held the office of Dean of Special Programs at The French Culinary Institute in New
York since 1988, and is also an adjunct faculty member at Boston University. He is a
founder of The American Institute of Wine and Food and a member of the International
Association of Culinary Professionals.
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