The November 2 event at The Uptown Theater in Napa will feature Jacques and culinary friends in conversation with KQED’s Cecilia Phillips
Beloved chef, author, teacher, and artist Jacques Pépin turns 90 this December. Widely regarded as one of the greatest culinary educators of our times, he has inspired generations of professional and casual cooks through more than 30 cookbooks and 13 public television series. To celebrate his extraordinary legacy, KQED is partnering with the Jacques Pépin Foundation for Jacques Pépin: A Legacy of Heart & Soul, a special KQED Live event to be held at Napa’s Uptown Theater on November 2, 2025.
KQED has worked in close collaboration with Pépin since 1991, when the station produced Today’s Gourmet for distribution on PBS stations. The chef would go on to produce several television series with KQED, including Fast Food My Way, Essential Pépin, Jacques Pépin Heart and Soul, and Jacques Pépin Cooking at Home. Today, KQED features Jacques Pépin Cooking at Home and Pépin archival content on its YouTube channel.
The KQED Live Napa event is a part of a larger nationwide 90 Chefs / 90 Dinners series to commemorate the Pépin’s birthday and contributions to the world of cooking. For the series professional chefs, culinary personalities, and home cooks across the country host dinners and events in support of the Jacques Pépin Foundation’s mission to improve lives through culinary education.
The Napa event will bring Jacques and some of his closest contemporaries – including cookbook author and TV personality Sara Moulton, celebrity chef Chris Costentino, and Jacques’ daughter and onscreen counterpart Claudine Pépin – together with Cecilia Phillips, a coordinating producer of KQED’s Check, Please! Bay Area and host of Cecilia Tries It, for a lively conversation inspired by iconic moments from his groundbreaking television career.
General admission tickets for this event go on sale on Wednesday, August 27; pre-sale for KQED members starts on Tuesday, August 26.
Jacques Pépin: A Legacy of Heart & Soul
Sunday, November 2, 2025
Doors: 2:00PM | Show: 3:00PM
Uptown Theater: 1350 3rd St, Napa, California
Tickets available at kqed.org/live
Tickets for the general public go on sale Wednesday, August 27 at 10am
About KQED
KQED serves the people of Northern California with a public-supported alternative to commercial media. An NPR and PBS member station based in San Francisco, KQED is home to one of the most listened-to public radio stations in the nation, one of the highest-rated public television services and an award-winning education program helping students and educators thrive in 21st-century classrooms. A trusted news source, leader and innovator in interactive technology, KQED takes people of all ages on journeys of exploration — exposing them to new people, places and ideas. www.kqed.org