A chat with Jacques Pépin

What he misses about Julia Child: "Just being with her and having fun. She was pretty forward about if she liked someone or didn't like someone."

A favorite, frequent lunch: Tortilla with olive oil, thinly sliced tomato, cilantro, scallion, a sprinkle of cheese baked in the oven for 10 minutes. "Anything I like, I eat with gusto. I like to eat."

Hot dogs, lobster rolls, pizza and hamburgers: The key is to get the best you can and never mind the presentation. "I don't remember the decoration; I remember the food."

Champagne: "The cheapest one that I can find for the quality." Pépin doesn't endorse products, but he buys sparkling Gruet wine from New Mexico by the case (about $18 a bottle). As good as much more expensive labels, he says.

Frequent dessert: Apple tart.

Favorite protein: Eggs, often cooked with Swiss chard and béchamel. He mentioned, as he often does, Eggs Jeannette, mostly a dressed variation of deviled eggs he learned from his mother.

Dogs: Paco and Gaston, black poodles he grooms himself. (Not in the poofy way, he notes.) Gaston drinks coffee — on the granite countertop when his owner places him there.

The way he wields the knife: "Maybe you don't do it as fast or as well," he said. "There is always an alternative." He pointed out that Julia and James Beard weren't professional chefs, either.

Boxed macaroni and cheese: "Sure. If my wife does it, I eat it. You can never put anything in front of me that I don't eat. I'm pretty much of a glutton."

His favorite food: "If you have fantastic bread and fantastic butter, it's pretty hard to beat."