Baker Profile: Rebekah Peppler
By Amber Wilson
Photo courtesy of Joann Pai
Author and New York Times contributor Rebekah Peppler shares her passion for French culture and dives deep into her enchanting new cookbook, Le Sud.
Rebekah Peppler’s love affair with the intimacy cultivated around eating significantly shaped her culinary journey, which was established as a child in Wisconsin. “My love for cooking and baking began early and at home in family kitchens. My grandmother in particular is a prolific baker. The Tarte à la Raspberry in Le Sud is loosely modeled after the raspberry dessert she made for my birthday every year. The first time I had a raspberry in the South of France—tiny, sweet, sun-warm—I was directly back in my childhood summers spent picking and immediately eating raspberries from the bramble in her huge garden.”
Her love for cooking and baking grew as she earned a degree in pastry from the French Culinary Institute in New York and decided to move to the sparkling charm of Paris in 2015—pursuing her love for all things French and advancing her career as a writer. Rebekah’s first cookbook, Apéritif, an excellent guide to the art of French l’apéro, was nominated for a James Beard Award and was recognized by the New York Times as one of the best cookbooks of 2018. Its success sparked excitement for her second book, À Table, which provides a more full-bodied reflection of French cuisine and food culture. And her third cookbook, Le Sud, is a love letter to the country’s southern cuisine.
“The South of France is obviously such a magical part of the world but, honestly, the path to writing Le Sud was quite organic. In all my cookbooks—Apéritif, À Table, and now Le Sud—my work has been driven by a combination of curiosity for and love of French culture as it manifests around the table and bar, my interest in writing from a research-driven point of view, and my personal, lived experience in France.”
She continues, “Since I moved to Paris, I have taken the train out of Gare de Lyon to Provence over and over again—for vacances [vacations], to visit friends, and for work, including the ground research for Apéritif and to shoot some of À Table. The research for Le Sud started long before I decided to write the book, and the process of creating Le Sud simply meant I had to be there more and dig into the region in a deeper, multifaceted way. It’s exactly the kind of work I love to do.”
The elegant yet casual recipes in her cookbook mirror Rebekah’s personal cooking style and the perspective of eating and drinking in the South of France. “All the recipes in Le Sud are meant to reflect the tables of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur today. Some are classic, traditional dishes—tapenade, ratatouille, aïoli—and some are more modern interpretations using Provençal ingredients and techniques—such as the Olives, Extra Spicy, Pastis Chicken, or Greens with Tomato Vinaigrette. Many of the recipes also reflect my personal experience in and connection to the South of France. My goal when writing any recipe is that, long after the text is committed to the page, I’m making it at home for friends and family.”
Rebekah describes the process of writing cookbooks as an exhilarating experience, and one of her favorite aspects is creating the visuals. After spending hours upon hours at the desk and in the kitchen, translating the written work and seeing it come to life through images is truly satisfying.
“I love the process of gathering inspiration, producing, and styling the shoots. My team—photographer Joann Pai, photographer assistant Kate Devine, and research assistant Laila Said—and I shot Le Sud across the south—in and around Marseille, the Luberon Valley, and at and around Julia Child’s former holiday home near Grasse. Each place and different season have a unique energy to draw from, and it was an inspiring book to shoot. Joann is incredibly fun and collaborative to work with—she has this way with light that is truly special. We really played with that in Le Sud’s images.”
She continues, “Some of the images are straight food shots which are, of course, important to a cookbook, but many of them aim to tell the larger story and serve to transport the reader. Approaching storytelling from all these different angles—text, recipes, images, design—is, to me, what makes creating a cookbook so special. One of the reasons I wrote and photographed Le Sud the way I did was in the hope that the book—and its recipes should you choose to make them—feel transportive. Another way I’ve found to translate the feeling of a French meal to your table, wherever it is, is to start with an apéro. That distinctly French ritual of ending the day and starting the night with little drink (a cocktail, a glass of wine, or something nonalcoholic and special) and snack is a surefire way to get into the French mindset.”
Rebekah shares her appetite for cooking and baking with inspiring techniques she makes look effortless and approachable. When asked what her favorite recipe is from Le Sud, it’s no surprise to hear her glorious plum clafoutis is at top the list. “The Reine Claude (or Other, Lesser Plums) Clafoutis is a favorite when I need a dessert that feels fancy and I don’t have a ton of time—but also want something more than piling chocolate bars, fresh fruit, in-the-shell-nuts, and vintage nutcrackers on the table and calling it. The custard—rich and creamy and lightly sweet—wraps around the fruit in such a luxe way. The recipe in the book uses Reine Claude plums, also known as greengage plums, which I love when they’re in season, but you can use any stone fruit you like. It’s also very good/almost better the next day for breakfast, which is something I love and value in any dessert.”
Her recipes embody the vibrant and dynamic spirit of the South of France, bringing people together and creating intimate sun-kissed moments that glow long after the summer has faded. Through her dishes, she reminds us to embrace the joy of life and leaves us with a few simple words of wisdom, “Be kind, practice letting things go, and always keep a dish of flaky salt on the table.”
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