What The Jacques Pepin Foundation does

The Jacques Pepin Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2016 by chef Jacques Pepin, his daughter Claudine Pepin, and son-in-law Dr. Rollie Wesen to advance culinary education for individuals facing barriers to employment, including those impacted by the justice system, experiencing homelessness, or in recovery. The foundation's primary operational mechanism is grantmaking to community-based nonprofit culinary training programs: a Principal Grant tier of up to $10,000 for new applicants, a Partnership Circle Grant tier of $25,000 per year for two years for previously-funded organizations, and a nomination-based Memorial Grants Program. Since the grants program launched in 2019, the foundation has disbursed nearly $2 million to over 90 partner organizations across all 50 U.S. states, with 37 organizations funded in 2025 and 137 proposals received for the 2026 cycle.

The foundation's technology stack centers on a video-based culinary education platform. Its flagship product is the "Cook with Jacques Pepin & Friends" Video Recipe Book, a 2021 Webby Award finalist digital platform hosted at members.jp.foundation that delivers searchable, downloadable, and printable cooking videos featuring Jacques Pepin and other celebrity chefs (Jose Andres, Andrew Zimmern, and others). The foundation also operates a free website video library and YouTube channel (JacquesPepinFoundation), and licenses a 30-hour online culinary course ("Jacques Pepin: A Legacy of Technique") through a partnership with Rouxbe. The platform is built on standard infrastructure — Vimeo for video embedding, Mailchimp for email, Google Analytics for traffic, Foundant for grants management, and Shopify/Bonfire for merchandise. No public APIs, SDKs, or AI capabilities are disclosed.

Revenue is generated through a diversified nonprofit model combining philanthropic contributions, recurring memberships, merchandise sales, and course licensing. Membership is offered on annual, quarterly, or monthly tiers and gates access to the Video Recipe Book. Donations flow through multiple channels including one-time gifts, monthly giving, corporate matching, IRA qualified charitable distributions, stock transfers, and planned giving through the 1935 Society. Merchandise (art posters, aprons, memorabilia) is sold under the Mission Marche program, with proceeds supporting the foundation's mission. The foundation's marketing mix spans content (YouTube, website), email (Mailchimp newsletters, twice-monthly general plus weekly member emails), organic social (Facebook, Instagram), events (annual galas, 90/90 Celebration Campaign dinners), and earned media coverage in national and regional press.

Name

The Jacques Pepin Foundation

Legal name

The Jacques Pepin Foundation

Website

https://jp.foundation

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Jacques Pepin Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2016 that funds community-based culinary training programs for individuals facing employment barriers, operating a video recipe membership platform and disbursing grants across all 50 U.S. states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Culinary Education and Workforce Development

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)

Keywords

• Culinary education grants
• Community kitchen training
• Nonprofit culinary workforce
• Video recipe platform
• Culinary arts philanthropy

Headquarters

HQ city

Barrington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Program: Annual, quarterly, or monthly membership subscriptions providing full access to the Video Recipe Book, weekly chef highlight emails, and member event access. Membership contributions are tax-deductible as the foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
2. Donations and Contributions: One-time and recurring donations, monthly giving programs, corporate matching, qualified charitable distributions from IRAs, stock donations, wire transfers, and ACH. Also includes planned giving through the 1935 Society.
3. Merchandise Sales: Sale of Jacques Pepin merchandise including art posters, aprons, memorabilia through Mission Marche program. A portion of proceeds supports culinary education.
4. Cooking Course by Rouxbe: Self-paced online video cooking course hosted by Rouxbe. Purchase of the course directly supports the foundation's mission.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The Jacques Pépin Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that supports free culinary and life-skills training by funding community-based training organizations serving individuals with employment barriers (justice-impacted, homeless, in recovery, underserved). It provides unrestricted grants (Principal Grants up to $10,000, Partnership Circle Grants of $25,000/year for two years, Memorial Grants), distributes educational content via a Video Recipe Book and cookbooks, and runs a membership program. Since beginning its grants program in 2019, it has disbursed nearly $2 million to over 90 organizations across all 50 states.

Product overview

The Jacques Pepin Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded in 2016 that supports free culinary and life skills training through community-based organizations. The Foundation's product portfolio centers on its Video Recipe Book, 'Cook with Jacques Pepin & Friends,' a digital platform providing hundreds of searchable, downloadable cooking videos. Related offerings include the Jacques Cooking at Home video series, an online culinary course via Rouxbe, and the JPF Membership subscription service. The Foundation also operates grant programs including the Principal Grant Program (up to $10,000 one-time), Partnership Circle Grant Program ($25,000/year for two years), and Memorial Grants Program. Additional resources include curricular materials (cookbooks and DVDs distributed to training programs) and the Community-Based Kitchen Support Program with an interactive national map. The organization does not develop or sell a commercial software product; rather, it provides educational content and grant funding to community culinary training organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Cook with Jacques Pepin & Friends: The JPF Membership Video Recipe Book featuring hundreds of cooking videos from Jacques Pepin and other notable chefs.
• JPF Membership Program
• Community-Based Kitchen Support Program

Products and services

• JPF Principal Grant Program
• JPF Partnership Circle Grant Program
• JPF Memorial Grants Program
• JPF Membership Program
• Cook with Jacques Pepin & Friends Video Recipe Book
• Jacques Cooking at Home Video Series
• Jacques Pépin Foundation Online Culinary Course
• JPF Library - Curricular Materials
• Community-Based Kitchen Support Program
• JPF Merchandise (Mission Marche)

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly $2 million granted to over 90 organizations since 2019
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Catalyst KitchenscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCatalyst Kitchens is a network of nonprofits leading a movement to end joblessness through foodservice job training and social enterprise. JPF partners with Catalyst Kitchens to support their network of culinary training programs.
• Feeding AmericacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJPF supports Feeding America's network of culinary job training programs housed in food banks across the country.
• RouxbecoreTechnology or IntegrationOnline culinary course partnership hosting Jacques Pepin: A Legacy of Technique, a 30-hour course teaching cooking techniques using a culinary school framework.
• OXOminorOthersIndustry partner providing equipment and supplies for community-based culinary training program grantees.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Hot Bread Kitchen: A New York-based nonprofit operating culinary workforce training programs for low-income immigrants and women. Direct peer in the culinary training / employment-barriers category that JPF targets.
• Emma's Torch: A Brooklyn/Silver Spring-based nonprofit providing paid culinary apprenticeships to refugees and immigrants with employment barriers. Direct peer in the culinary-workforce-development space; a JPF grantee that recently opened a new cafe and training center with JPF support.
• Catalyst Kitchens: A national network of nonprofits advancing foodservice job training and social enterprise. Direct peer in mission and grantee ecosystem — JPF is a partner of Catalyst Kitchens and many of its grantees overlap with the network.
• Wholesome Wave: A nonprofit foundation focused on food access and nutrition programs for low-income communities. Direct peer in the food-equity / culinary-education foundation category and a comparable grantmaking model targeting underserved populations.
• DC Central Kitchen: A pioneering culinary job training nonprofit serving individuals with barriers to employment in Washington, D.C. Direct peer in the workforce-development-through-culinary-training space and aligned with JPF's primary mission.
• Rachael Ray Foundation: A celebrity-chef-founded 501(c)(3) supporting nutrition education and culinary training for underserved communities. Direct peer in the celebrity-chef-founded foundation supporting culinary education niche.

Emerging players

• Rouxbe: Online culinary school platform and JPF technology partner that hosts Jacques Pépin: A Legacy of Technique. Adjacent peer operating in the online culinary education space with overlapping technology and content overlap, but focused on paid course delivery rather than grantmaking.
• America's Test Kitchen: A consumer-facing culinary education brand producing video cooking instruction. Comparable in the culinary-content / video-education category but operating as a commercial subscription rather than nonprofit.

Broad incumbents

• World Central Kitchen: Founded by chef José Andrés, World Central Kitchen is a larger celebrity-chef-led nonprofit focused on food relief and resilience. It is comparable as a peer foundation leveraging a chef-founder brand for humanitarian impact, though operating at far greater scale and a different mission focus.
• Feeding America: The largest US hunger-relief organization, with a network of culinary job training programs housed in food banks that JPF directly supports. Broader incumbent in food-system philanthropy and a core strategic partner of JPF.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@JacquesPepinFoundation
• Facebookfacebook.com/jacquespepinfoundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/jacquespepinfoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments2 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Jacques Pepin Foundation