The Sanctuary at Argenta/Comeback Kitchen
- When
- September 18, 2025
- Where
-
The Sanctuary at Argenta
201 West 4th Street
North Little Rock, AR - Tickets/Info
- Get Tickets
Join Chef Andre Poirot and special guest chefs, as well as students and graduates of Food Jobs Work, for a special evening celebrating the organization’s success in empowering the underemployed in Arkansas through culinary workforce education. Food Jobs Work is also partnering with the Jacques Pépin Foundation to celebrate Jacques’ 90th birthday with 90 celebrations across the United States in 2025.
The event, to be held at The Sanctuary at Argenta in North Little Rock, will be a charming and lighthearted delve into modern French culture, with a nod toward the culinary classics embodied by Pépin’s lifetime of work.
Highlights
- Chef Poirot and featured Arkansas chefs will prepare multiple courses of Pépin-inspired French cuisine
- Students and graduates of Food Jobs Work will in attendance to help prepare and serve food
- Featured graduates of Food Jobs Work will share how the organization changed their lives for the better
- The event will include a video greeting from Jacques and special foodie take-home items
- Proceeds of the event will benefit Food Jobs Work’s training programs
Details
- VIP tickets are $175 per person; General Admission tickets are $100 per person
- Jacques Pépin proudly supports our 90/90 Celebrations. While he can't be present at all of them, we invite you to check our website for details on the events where he will joining in celebration.
- For more information, contact The Sanctuary at Argenta/Comeback Kitchen
Event Host
André Poirot
Chef André Poirot is an aficionado of fine dining and the art of haute cuisine, and he says he owes much of his career to the legacy of Jacques Pépin.
He was born and raised in France where he received his culinary diploma in 1977. He served as a commis at the Ets Blache restaurant in Remiremont, France, and in the hallowed kitchens of The Savoy on the Strand in London. He completed his military duty at Pont St. Vincent, France as a chef mess officer, and went on to be saucier at Thomas de Quincey’s restaurant in London.
Chef André returned to the verdant valleys of Bordeaux where he was sous-chef at Ets Cuny Traiteur. He progressed to head chef at Relais de Ballons in St. Maurice-Moselle before moving to Strasbourg for a complete change of pace. Then the roar of the Atlantic waves called, and chef André, like millions before him, answered the call. He came ashore in Bermuda at the Princess Hotel, as chef de cuisine at Harley’s restaurant, and gourmet chef at the Tiara restaurant.
The clang of the street cars of New Orleans were the next clarion call. He worked for fourteen years at the Royal Sonesta Hotel for the celebrated Begue’s Restaurant. In 2004, the Peabody Hotel Little Rock recruited him as executive chef to supervise all the food and beverage functions held at the hotel and at the Statehouse Convention Center.
In 2013, the Peabody was sold and Chef André joined the Crowne Plaza Hotel Little Rock. In 2018, he joined the Capital Hotel as Executive Chef of in-room dining before being recruited by the Clinton Foundation to run the kitchen of 42 Bar + Table where he still works.