Meet a Culinary Icon at the Long Beach International Film Festival
Jacques Pepin will be feted at this five-course, film-and-food-pairing dinner
Long before Bourdain and Flay, Jacques Pepin and Julia Child were the television personalities that taught the world to love good food.
The 16-time James Beard award winning chef has had an amazing career that started in the 1950s when he was a military chef and continues today. At the age of 86, Pepin is set to release his latest book in September 2022. Art of the Chicken: A Master Chef’s Paintings, Stories, and Recipes of the Humble Bird will pay tribute to the chicken with stories, drawings, and recipes.
Longtime fans of Pepin will have the opportunity to meet this culinary legend in person next week at an event called Chefs & Shorts, part of the Long Beach International Film Festival. The event, which takes place Thursday, July 28 at the Allegria Hotel in Long Beach, New York.
Part film festival, part wine pairing dinner, Chefs & Shorts will offer guests a five-course dinner with each course inspired by a short film. As each course is served, the short film will be played, making this a truly immersive evening of good food, great wine, and intriguing visual art.
Jacques Pepin will serve as the official honoree of the evening. The chef lineup includes John Maffei who will serve a purslane ravioli, paired with a 2020 Cantina Zaccagnini Pinot Grigio and the film, The Cocktail Party (director: Jessica Sanders).
Chef Guy Reuge will follow with a Moroccan spice-crusted loin of lamb, paired with a 2015 Bee Hunter Pinot Noir and the film Sorry Not Sorry (director: Monique Sorgen).
Chef Herve Malivert will present an olive oil poached egg yolk on toast with duck confit for his dish, paired with a 2021 Chateaude Segries Tavel Rose and the film Egg (director: Michael Goldberg).
Chef Frank Giordano will offer a smoked razor clam ceviche, paired with a 2018 Bee Hunter Brut Nature and the film Champagne (director: Olivia Saperstein).
Finally, chef Michael Howell will serve a dark chocolate pate with pistachio crema paired with a 2016 Taylor Fladgate LBV Port and the film That's My Jazz (director: Ben Proudfoot).
Tickets for the event cost $149 through today, July 21, and $199 through the day of the event, and can be purchased here.
Fort Lauderdale film buffs shoudn't miss the International Vegan Film Festival, held at Savor Cinema on Saturday, July 30, where 12 vegan short films will be screened in a two-hour span of time. Films include Save Ralph, Moving Animals, Source, Dear Tilly, Hide, There Was a Killing, The Story of Two Vegan Bodybuilders, Climate Crisis and Why We Should Panic, Food & Free Speech, and others. Tickets cost $25 to $45 and include the films, pre- and post- screening receptions, and panel talks. Tickets are available here.