JACQUES PÉPIN FOUNDATION

Our charity is comprised of a small handful of dedicated and talented professionals. We envision: Enriched lives and stronger communities through the power of culinary education.

We currently collaborate with existing community kitchens to raise their profile and assist and support in their fund-raising activities. We provide original technical materials including cookbooks and technique videos created by Chef Jacques Pepin. We broker relationships between kitchen equipment producers and community kitchens to improve facilities. Eventually we hope to provide program reviews and award Jacques Pepin Foundation accreditation to programs and student graduates.

Chef Jacques Pépin is a cultural and culinary icon. His decades of culinary instruction at the International Culinary Center in NYC, and at Boston University, sixteen James Beard Awards as well as over six hundred individual PBS episodes and more than thirty published cookbooks have inspired multiple generations to pursue the art and craft of cooking. Chef Pépin believes that culinary skills built on technique and training can empower individuals by building confidence, improving health and offering entry into the workforce.

Currently, the food service industry in the U.S. suffers with 650,000 job vacancies. The JPF recognizes that with a relatively short program of technical skills training in culinary arts, coupled with individualized support services, disenfranchised individuals can gain entry into the food service workforce. In addition to knife skills and food safety, the discipline requires accountability, communication, teamwork, organization and personal confidence – skills critical to professional and lifelong success.

Teaching economically disadvantaged adults, including veterans and many who have suffered the trauma of substance abuse, health issues and homelessness is a win for individuals, a win for the food service industry, and a win for society. Your tax-deductible support will help countless individuals reclaim their lives and their place in society through culinary training.

As the JPF embarks on this mission, your support will allow us to continue to identify and foster organizations on the front line of this movement. There are dozens of Community Based Organizations across the country that provide culinary training, along with social and support services, to help disenfranchised adults reclaim their lives and their place in society. Because of his lifetime of teaching, Jacques is uniquely positioned to support the work of these organizations. Our collaborations with organizations like FareStart in Seattle and the Rhode Island Food Bank will incorporate Chef Pépin’s teachings into curricula and create systems to validate that learning outcomes match employers’ needs. We hope you will support our mission.