Honoring a Legend: Jacques Pépin’s 90th Birthday Dinner at Massara on Park

5 Minute read

07 Nov 2025

Journalist

Chefs Stefano Secchi and Wylie Dufresne join forces in New York City to celebrate Jacques Pépin’s 90th birthday with a special five-course dinner benefiting the Jacques Pépin Foundation.

The legendary Jacques Pépin turns 90 on December 18, 2025. In celebration, chefs, culinary personalities, and home cooks across the country have been hosting 90 dinners and events since last year, leading up to Pépin’s birthday, to support the Jacques Pépin Foundation (JPF).

Called the 90/90 Campaign, it aims to preserve, protect, and promote Pépin’s legacy while directly supporting the JPF’s educational initiatives, including free instructional videos and the Community Kitchens Support program, which empowers people facing barriers to employment through culinary training.

While Pépin hasn’t attended every event in his honor, he will be in New York on November 20, 2025, for one of the final celebrations: the 90/90 Dinner at Massara on Park, where chefs Stefano Secchi (Massara, Rezdôra) and Wylie Dufresne (Stretch Pizza) will pay tribute to him and his legacy. Both chefs have personal connections to the beloved Frenchman.

“I grew up watching Jacques Pépin on PBS, and my parents’ first chef when they moved from Europe knew Jacques well,” says Secchi. “There was a friendly rivalry. It’s surreal to be able to cook with and for him…full circle.”

The evening begins with a cocktail and wine reception at 6:30 p.m., followed by a seated tasting menu featuring Chef Secchi’s handmade pastas from the Campania and Emilia-Romagna regions alongside Chef Dufresne’s inventive interpretations.

“Jacques Pépin was the first person I ever called ‘chef,’” says Dufresne. “He was one of my instructors at the French Culinary Institute, and when I got there, I was already a fan. As a kid, I’d watched him on PBS with my grandfather, and his cookbooks La Méthode and La Technique were two of the first my father gave me. I loved seeing him work in the kitchen at FCI; his skill was incredible. French cooking will always be my favorite, and that’s thanks in part to Jacques. Merci, chef!”

The five-course menu includes several homages to Pépin, such as Jacques’s “Pizza in Teglia” with leeks, Gruyère, black truffle, prosciutto, and parmigiano fonduta; doppio tortello in “Coq au Vin” style; fish smoked with beurre blanc, chives, and caviar; and blood orange and vanilla crème brûlée. Specialty cocktails and premium wines inspired by the menu feature Prosecco DOC and Stemmari Hedonis Riserva Sicilia DOC 2015.

Tickets are available to the public and can be purchased on Resy, with proceeds benefiting the Jacques Pépin Foundation. Additionally, special-edition signed and numbered prints by Pépin will be sold at jacquespinart.com, with a portion of proceeds also supporting the Foundation.

07 Nov 2025