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TYPH TUCKER, Associated PressThe Pences, chefs Caprial and John, are partners in life, at work and on television.
PORTLAND, Ore. - In their airy southeast Portland cooking-school kitchen, John and Caprial Pence see their individual identities melt away as they make a meal. The two become extensions of each other: He heats a pan while she explains why the pan needs to be extra hot to draw the most flavor out of vegetables.
Next, she drops handfuls of carrots and potatoes into hot olive oil he has poured, and the vegetables sizzle and pop.
Most of America's celebrity chefs are solo acts, famous for their flash and oomph.
Not the Pences, a married couple whose new season of cooking shows, now called Caprial and John's Kitchen: Cooking for Family and Friends, is under way on public television stations. WUSF-Ch. 16 will air the series this summer, program director Susan Geiger says.
The show began 10 years ago as a solo vehicle for Caprial. Four years ago, her husband joined her, the natural result of spending so much time together in the kitchen, Caprial says.
"It is no wonder that they keep finding success with their show," says Barbara Fairchild, editor in chief of Bon Appetit magazine. "Caprial is very open and very knowledgeable, and you can tell that she loves sharing information with other people. They want to share how easy it is to cook at home."
For the duo, who also run a popular Portland restaurant and a cooking school and have published numerous cookbooks, cooking is something to be shared with the people they love: roommates, siblings, friends and children, as well as each other.
The Pences' attraction goes beyond typical Northwest cuisine, which features organic, fresh ingredients, says chef Kathy Casey, a well-known Seattle food commentator who worked with Caprial and John when they were starting out.
"People always like to see the dynamics of a couple, especially when there is a little tension. That is fun," Casey says.
This season, the show will look a little different because the Pences got more creative control, co-producing the series with American Public Television. They filmed episodes out of their cooking school, focusing on one of their favorite topics: cooking for friends and family. Cooking instruction alternates with home movies of backyard barbecues and dinner parties.
"I think the quality of food shows out there is good, but we offer something different," Caprial says. "We've been teaching for 20 years and really work hard to make sure those recipes are appealing to home cooks."
The couple's fame and influence reflect current fascination with the people behind cuisine. Celebrity chefs such as Wolfgang Puck and Emeril Lagasse turn into quarterbacks of the kitchen when they are on television, helping guide the masses away from the microwave to the oven.
But in a genre where lone chefs are the norm, the Pences attract people with their real-life banter.
Talking with students about the differences in salt, Caprial mentions that a certain French salt was probably packaged by some handsome French man with the wind blowing through his hair.
"Nah," John says. "It's probably just the opposite."
"Don't ruin my fantasy," his wife shoots back.
Caprial and John Pence graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. They married in 1984 and moved to Seattle, where Caprial quickly moved up the ladder at one of the city's up-and-coming restaurants, Fullers, a pioneer in the Northwest local foods movement.
By 1988, Time magazine was calling Caprial the "latest star" in Seattle, and she earned the James Beard Award for best chef in the Pacific Northwest in 1990. John Pence made his name as a chef at two other Seattle restaurants, La Fleur and Cafe Sport. Eventually they were back in a kitchen together, at Fullers. They moved to Portland in 1991 to shift gears, focus more on their young family and run their own restaurant.
Their most recent book is Caprial and John's Kitchen: Recipes for Cooking Together (Ten Speed Press, $35). It offers timing tips for two cooks, even for imposing-sounding recipes such as Sturgeon With a Horseradish Crust and Watercress Aioli.
The Pences speak with firsthand knowledge about cooking in a rushed-for-time world. They say cooking and having a meal together relax them after a busy day.
"People think that we go home at the end of the day and whip up these four-course meals," Caprial says. "But really, we eat very simply and cook very quickly."
Cooking together works for them.
"I know it sounds crazy, but we are talking food 90 percent of the day," Caprial says. It's so much a part of out lives, it's not like a job. We love it."
Grilled Asparagus Salad With Crab, Shrimp and Crispy Pancetta
1/3 pound peeled, diced shrimp
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 pound fresh crab meat
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Black pepper
6 slices pancetta, cooked until crispy
1 1/2 pounds trimmed asparagus
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon coarse salt
Heat a small saute pan with oil.
Add the shrimp and cook just until just cooked through.
Cool the shrimp and place in a bowl. Add the crab, garlic and onion and mix well. Add the basil, vinegar, olive oil and black pepper and toss well. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Place the asparagus on a sheet pan and drizzle with the olive oil. Season with salt. Place in the oven and cook until the asparagus is al dente, about 5 minutes depending on the thickness of the asparagus.
Distribute the asparagus on the plates then top with the salad and crispy pancetta. Serve.
Serves 6.
Source: Recipe courtesy of "Caprial and John's Kitchen: Cooking for Family and Friends."