#TBT: Chef Jacques Pépin Looking Foxy in 1958

Rachel Tepper Paley
·Editor
Updated
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Photo: jacques_pepin/Twitter

No, the above headshot doesn’t belong to a GQ model. It’s famed French chef Jacques Pépin, who in honor of #ThrowbackThursday shared a photo of his 1958 credentials from his time working as chef to then-President of France René Coty. Just a few months after this credential was issued, Pépin became chef to Charles de Gaulle, one of the most famous French politicians of all time.

In 1987, Pépin described the gig to The Boston Globe: “I gave three menus a day to Mme. de Gaulle and we discussed them at night before I went to market the next day. Mme. de Gaulle was a sweet, gentle woman. There were state dinners for Nehru, Tito, Eisenhower, MacMillan.” At all times, there were “gorillas” — secret service agents — stationed in the kitchen.

Check out another photo of Pépin from around the same time below:

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More chef stories:

Life-Changing Lessons from Jacques Pépin

Anthony Bourdain on Why He’ll Never Cook (Professionally) Again

Smart Everyday Cooking Tips From 10 Celebrity Chefs

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