The Popular Sweet Treat You Won't Find Chef Jacques Pépin Snacking On

Culinary icon Jacques Pépin has a notable appreciation for sweets. The chef, author, and educator has shared numerous dessert recipes through the website of his nonprofit organization, The Jacques Pépin Foundation, and in his cookbooks. Pépin's desserts are known for being simple, natural, and fruit-forward; in fact, many of his recipes highlight real fruits as the star ingredients, including his grandma's baked apples, raspberry velvet, and grapefruit dessert. So it stands to reason that as a fan of fresh food, Pépin is not inordinately fond of the artificially made variety. In fact, one stands out as his least favorite: marshmallow.

In a December 2023 Q&A for KQED (via YouTube), a public television station in Northern California, Pépin was asked about the foods he enjoys eating. The celebrity chef did not hold back in response to the query, saying: "I'm kind of like a glutton. I kind of like any food, but ... I'm not crazy about marshmallow."

Jacques Pépin has been very vocal about disliking marshmallow. In fact, he mentioned in the first season of his cooking show with Julia Child, "Julia & Jacques Cooking at Home," which premiered on PBS in 1999. In an episode, Child gently teased Pépin for not adding marshmallows to sweet potatoes — a Thanksgiving combination that goes way back. When he pointed out that he's not crazy about having marshmallows in the dish, Child jokingly responded: "That's because you're French!" (via YouTube). The two didn't disagree on much, save for a controversial chicken prep step, but it's worth noting that the French do not loathe marshmallow. They're actually quite fond of them, but see it as a sweet treat and not a recipe ingredient.

In a 2017 interview with The Seattle Times, the King of Omelets almost delivered the same word-for-word response about marshmallows that he gave to KQED ("I'm kind of a glutton, you know. I'm not crazy about marshmallows.") And in a much earlier dialogue with Interview Magazine from 2012, he gave the sugary treat as the single-word answer to a question about foods that he felt had an inexplicable popularity.

Pépin's dislike notwithstanding, the soft, spongy confection is so popular in the U.S. that over 90 million pounds of marshmallows are sold nationwide yearly . Americans also celebrate the campfire staple every National Toasted Marshmallow Day on Aug. 30.