Jacques Pépin and how to do garlic

There’s the Wrong Way and Jacques Pépin’s Way

I'm so inspired. The New York Times did a piece on Jacques Pépin last week, focussing not on his new cookbook but the importance of good cooking technique. Everyone wants to go straight to being creative - most people (99%) only grasp at it. There's something wonderful about seeing someone with masterful knife skills, knowing how to correctly apply heat, even how they move around a kitchen. Watch the videos. That's what I want to work on, to put this newfound appreciation for hard work at developing proper technique to practice.

I'm starting with the garlic purée on the chopping board. I tell my piano students all the time about how strong fundamentals trump all else. Pépin proves that that ideal applies even more in the kitchen.

DF