This story has been updated.
Jacques Pépin picks chanterelles every summer in the backyard of his Connecticut home. They pop from the ground, wavy golden goblets waiting for him in the shade.
Those chanterelles, prized by chefs the world over for their nutty, peppery flavor, are one of many ingredients Pépin has found in the landscape around the Madison home he’s lived in for four decades. The world-renowned chef has fished the rivers and dug for clams on the beaches. He drinks wine from a local vineyard and makes his impeccable omelets with eggs he buys from a neighbor down the road, flecked with herbs from his garden. On occasion, he’ll pick up a freshly slaughtered chicken or duck from her, too.
This all paints an aspirational picture of seasonal eating in the coastal Connecticut landscape. But to Pépin, ingredients themselves aren’t precious. Eating doesn’t have to be picture-perfect. You’re just as likely to see him shopping at the Big Y, picking up a lonely box of bruised white mushrooms and a pre-cut chicken breast…