Times Books, 1978 and 1979. Hardcovers. Very Good in Good Minus jackets. 

One-time chef for French President Charles de Gaulle, Jacques Pepin (1935– ) emigrated to the US in 1959 to work at New York City’s Le Pavillion under Henri Soulé. In the 1970s Pepin shifted his focus to culinary education, which led to a deanship at the French Culinary Institute (now ICC), a TV cooking show, and two monumental books on culinary basics, La Technique (1976) and La Methode (1979).

The step-by-step photos and detailed technical instruction made Pepin’s first books indispensable to eager, green cooks. Technique, Pepin argued, made all the difference between a mere line cook and a chef. While the books were combined in 2012 into a  with fresh color photography, we still regularly see young cooking professionals seeking out the original editions, which can be found, sullied and worn, on their mentors’ shelves.

We offer both La Technique and La Methode here in totally sound condition, clean and unmarked inside. Both jackets show considerable wear and tear, but remain intact. The jacket for the first volume, a later printing, was previously repaired with scotch tape. As some consolation, the second volume is a signed first printing. Black and white photography with color inserts.