Talented Amateur Houston Chef Cooks a Feast for a French Master at His Memorial Manse: Talk About a Dream Foodie Birthday Party

It takes a boat load of culinary confidence to cook dinner for one of the world’s most acclaimed French chefs. So it was that seriously-accomplished home cook and entrepreneur Jim Lee hit the ranges in his Memorial area abode to prepare a multi-course feast for television personality, best-selling cookbook author and renowned chef Jacques Pépin.

Dinner was prelude to the following day’s celebration of Lee’s birthday at Amalfi Ristorante, where Pépin and his daughter, Claudine Pépin, conducted a cooking class/demonstration. The birthday boy and his wife, Amy, welcomed 80 of their best friends to the spectacular foodie fête.

With Amalfi executive chef Giancarlo Ferrara opening his kitchen and restaurant for the afternoon, Pépin regaled guests with tales of his arrival in the U.S. in the early ’60s as a young chef, his earning a master’s degree in French literature from Columbia University and soon meeting Julia Child. His future was thus redirected from literature to the arena of sauces, sous vide and mirepoix.

Pépin’s presentation included demonstrating his knife skills by swirling his blade across a pat of butter to create a rose, deboning an entire chicken using only his thumbs and a knife, trimming an artichoke and preparing six different styles of salmon gravlax. Then the 82-year-old culinary wizard offered instruction on how to prepare the perfect omelette.

In honor of Pépin’s presence, Ferrara served lunch using recipes from the 2015 cookbook Jacques Pépin, Heart & Soul in the Kitchen. Guests dined on Tagliatelle Cacio e Pepe con Pancetta Affumicata, Sautéed Duck Breast with Arugula Salad and Cracklings, Beef Filet Mini Steaks with Wild Mushrooms and Summer Black Truffles and for dessert Lemon Mousseline. (Ferrara will be creating the same menu with wine pairings Tuesday night, May 15,  $95 per person.)

And what did home chef Lee prepare for the master? Sous vide lobster over corn mousse with caviar and fennel fronds; fresh zucchini salad with lemon, mint hazelnuts and parma cheese; potatoes dominoes with sage butter; American Wagyu rib eye caps with chimichurri and criolla; and lemon cheesecake with blackberries. To wash it down — the coveted 2007 Screaming Eagle wine.