Famed French chef Jacques Pepin donned a Branford Community Dining Hall apron and quickly went to work — slicing and dicing veggies to create a savory vegetable soup that may well become a staple for feeding the shoreline needy.
As he sliced he talked, his words leading to a conversation about obesity, natural foods, walking and the fun he is having cooking with great artists. Recently he cooked with Itzhak Perlman, the Israeli violinist and conductor. They explored the relationship between art and food.
But this week he joined Pat Kral, the executive director of the community dining room (pictured above), at the Dining Hall’s headquarters at 30 Harrison Ave.
About 41,000 meals a year are prepared for the needy who come to the Dining Hall from Clinton to East Haven, an area that includes the towns of Branford, North Branford, Foxon, Guilford and Madison. More than 250 volunteers help out
Pepin’s 15-minute soup demonstration, which relies on whatever veggies happen to be in the fridge that day, is part of a kick-off campaign to promote the Community Dining Room’s annual Walkathon on Saturday, April 26th at 9:30 a.m. It leaves from the Owenego Beach and Tennis Club, 40 Linden Ave., in Branford. Pepin is the grand marshal.
To the delight of a group of volunteers, Pepin created the soup from scratch, beginning with five cups of water and an assortment of veggies. He chatted about this and that, tossed some grated gruyere cheese in the bowls, stirred in some milk. He was finished by noon, just as patrons were lining up for lunch. Click here for the recipe.
As he prepared the soup, he observed that the cheese and milk were optional soup ingredients and this led us to have a longer conversation about obesity in America.
“When I was a kid we never eat between meals. We had very little for breakfast, a little bread, and then we had lunch. Usually the biggest meal was either lunch or at night. We never had any soda; we had water. “
He remembered that “my father would put a half teaspoon of wine in my water to get the taste buds going. We did not eat between meals, we drank water and we followed the seasons.”
He grew up near Lyons. “We had a garden and my parents were both gardeners. They never heard the word organic; they just gardened. My mother had a little restaurant. You go to the market, you buy a little food. You follow the seasons, and you avoid processed food because processed food is loaded with all kinds of stuff. Better to eat naturally. Look, we just did a soup in ten minutes.”
Pepin, who lives in Madison, said he tries to walk everyday. “I walk a lot in the woods; I pick up a lot of wild mushrooms … around my house. Last summer I picked up over 350 pounds of mushrooms. We found 35 different types.”
He said he did a PBS one-hour television special with Perlman last week. “I cooked with him in his house in East Hampton, New York. The idea is to talk to great artists, designers, movie stars, people who love cooking , wine and all that and to see how much of their art goes into the food” and vice-versa. His latest television series, “Fast Food my Way,” will air on PBS in September.
Pepin, 72, will take walkers along a three-mile scenic, seashore stroll as part of the Walkathon. He will also autograph cookbooks — he has written more than 25 — over the years.
Kral, the director of the Dining Hall, told Pepin that “we are trying to get a nice Corvette for you to ride in.”
“No,” Pepin replied. “I am going to walk with my dog, Paco.”
Pre-registration is available at the Community Dining Room’s website or at the Dining Hall or by contacting Gay Firth, the co-chair of the Walkathon.Proceeds from the Walkathon support the Community Dining Room in purchasing food and serving free meals. Lunch is served Sunday through Friday from noon to 1:00 p.m. Saturday breakfast is served from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. And a Tuesday night Family dinner is served at 5 p.m., following a half-hour story time for the children.- # #
