The Adorable Way Jacques Pépin And His Wife Gloria Met

Sad news broke on December 5th that the wife of famed French chef Jacques Pépin, Gloria, passed at the age of 83. Though Pépin is undoubtedly in a cloud of grief after losing his wife of 54 years, he and others are also thinking on the happier days the pair shared (via People).

Jacques and Gloria Pépin were married in 1966, and one year later, their daughter Claudine was born. "In all that time, they made sure to sit at the table every night for dinner, enjoying their meal and a glass of wine, intentionally reaffirming their marriage and their love," said a statement posted to Facebook that was released upon Gloria's passing. But before the couple married, they met in what we think is perhaps the cutest way possible. Apparently, it was Gloria that pursued Jacques, and he did not exactly make it easy for her to capture his attention. 

According to an interview Gloria gave with PBS American Masters, she "picked him up on the ski slope." Jacques was a ski instructor at Hunter Mountain in New York, while Gloria was actually a ski patroller in the area. Though she was an excellent skier herself, she signed up for a lesson to spend time with Jacques.

"He had a nice bun," Gloria recalled laughingly. "He had long sideburns and I wasn't sure whether he was straight or gay because he was so good-looking, but I said I'll give it a shot." She said she felt she was the better skier, but he was relentless and found plenty of things wrong with her performance during their first lesson. As Gloria's skiing didn't get past his critical eye, she booked a second lesson. Eventually, Jacques invited her to his apartment where he cooked dinner for their second date. "And it was wonderful, but it was all stuff from Howard Johnson's. I didn't know that he just reheated this beef bourguignon and then I finally found out who he was and what he did," Gloria said.