The No. 1 Thing You Need to Know About French Food, According to Jacques Pépin

Chef, cookbook author, and French food expert Jacques Pépin has been doling out culinary wisdom for decades, and at age 89 — when he’s not busy painting — he’s still an active force in the food world.

Last week, he sat down to chat with fellow food icon José Andrés for the Spanish chef’s podcast, Longer Tables with José Andrés. The duo reflected on everything from Pépin’s first years in the United States to his friendship with Julia Child. As a French chef in America, Pépin has a unique perspective on how others perceive the cuisine of his home country — and there’s one myth he’s hoping to debunk.

He emphasizes to Andrés that the heart of French cuisine isn't solely found in high-end restaurants and tasting menus. He points out that “There is [a] misunderstanding often in America, considering French cooking as something very fancy, which is part of it, but not really the important part of it.” Pépin also says the introduction of the Michelin rating system for restaurants helped cultivate the idea that the best French food is found in ultra-luxurious spaces.

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In 1926 the French tire company Michelin began issuing stars to what it considered exceptional restaurants, as part of its guide to traveling through France — the goal was to encourage motorists to drive across the country, and acclaimed restaurants presented another reason to take a road trip. Five years later, in 1931, Michelin introduced the three-star system that’s employed today.

Per the Michelin Guide, “A Michelin Star is awarded to restaurants offering outstanding cooking.” There are a number of criteria that are taken into consideration when awarding stars, and Michelin-recommended restaurants around the world do span a range of price points, but the system is known for being biased towards more expensive establishments.

Data from April 2024 reveals the median price for dining at a Michelin-starred restaurant as $179, with each additional star increasing the overall cost. As the birthplace of Michelin, France is home to the highest number of starred restaurants: 636 of them as of this past fall.

Pépin explains how the prevalence of the Michelin rating system in France has influenced perceptions of French food, telling Andrés, “What happened is that there is something called the Michelin Guide in France, and the three-star is the ultimate restaurant. There are only 13, I think, 13 three-star restaurants in France, and there are about 70 or so two-star [restaurants] and about 400 one-star. So the whole star system is like 500, 600 [places], whereas there are 138,000 restaurants in France. So most people, even in my family, have never eaten in a three-star restaurant. But often in the psyche of the American people, they look at French cooking in the context of a three-star restaurant.”

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To him and many other French people, the heart of their cuisine lies in country cooking and humble, homey meals. The award-winning chef notes that, “I [have been teaching] at Boston University 34 years now. I used to take groups to France all the time. I take them maybe in one starred restaurant or maybe two, but the rest of it was country cooking, brasserie, and all that.”

Both countryside French cuisine and brasseries — more informal cafes that serve less expensive fare — are marked by comfort, and often simplicity.

You might be familiar with comforting dishes like the slowly-braised beef bourguignon, which is certainly a country cooking classic in France, albeit one that takes time and patience. But Jacques Pépin explains that these types of dishes can be “very simple, a roast of, you know, a roast of veal with the mashed potato or whatever.”

When it comes to what he likes to eat, the chef continues to keep it straightforward. Eggs are one of Pépin’s all-time favorite foods, and he’s known as the master of the French omelet. While this simple item does take technique, he tells Andrés that his mother used to make a more country-style, flat omelet — either one will be equally delicious. The chef also proclaims that his last meal would be a humble pairing of roast chicken and a fresh tomato salad. So the next time you’re in France, if you want to dine like the most famous French chef of all time, maybe seek out an omelet or roast chicken in a small town off the beaten path.

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