We traveled to the Watergate Hotel in Washington, DC, to reminisce about one of the most influential chefs ever to cook in the United States, the late Jean-Louis Palladin. Those who worked most closely with him, as well as his contemporary and fellow transplanted Frenchman Jacques Pépin, share their memories of this legendary figure.
Jean-Louis Palladin, who came to the United States from France in 1979, was one of the most talented and influential chefs of his generation. From his base in Washington, DC, Palladin, who died much too young in 2001 at age 55, helped forge a network of farmers and purveyors along the Eastern Seaboard, brought an unparalleled artistry and innate gift for improvisation to his cooking, wrote one of the first "coffee table" chef cookbooks, and left his mark on a generation of young Americans, inspiring such then-aspiring chefs as Anthony Bourdain and Thomas Keller.
During a recent tribute dinner at the Watergate Hotel, Andrew sat down with a number of chefs who knew Palladin well: His contemporary and fellow immigrant French chef Jacques Pépin, three chefs who supported him at Jean-Louis at the Watergate--Larbi Dahrouch, Jimmy Sneed, and Jamie Stachowski--and chef of the Watergate's current showcase restaurant Kingbird, Sébastien Giannini.
All of that, plus a bonus conversation with Jacques Pépin about how his hobby of painting parallels his life in the kitchen.
***EPISODE GUIDE***
0:00 - 7:15 - Intro
7:15 - 27:07 Segment 1
27:08 - 30:42 Mid-Show Break/Housekeeping Notes
30:43 - end Segment 2
***LINKS***
Andrew Talks to Chefs official site
Jean-Louis Palladin NY Times obituary
Jean-Louis Palladin's book Cooking with the Seasons