Memories of Julia Child

The first dinner party I ever hosted was when I was around sixteen years old. As mentioned in my first post, my best friend and I decided to prepare a rather elaborate meal for our French teacher as one of our class projects.

Neither of us had ever made a complete soup to nuts dinner before, let alone a rather sophisticated French one. This impromptu feast changed what I knew about food and introduced me to French gastronomy and the world of Julia Child.

Julia Child Memorabilia

We had borrowed her ground-breaking cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, from the library and carefully selected each course. The meal was wonderful and it left me wanting to know more about the author, food in general, and French cooking in particular.

Julia, of course, was ever-present on PBS from the mid sixties to the year 2000. Watching her show was a joy as she cooked and recovered from mishaps with ease and good humor. Nothing seemed to bother her; a good lesson in these days of temperamental and ego-driven ‘celebrity’ chefs.

My favorite shows were the later ones with French chef Jacques Pépin, who I also enjoy and admire. Seeing them cook together was like peeking through the kitchen window of a long-married couple as they affectionately bantered and bickered their way through a meal.

She was surely a cultural icon, having introduced French cooking to Americans through her book, writings and TV programs, but she was so much more. Julia came from a privileged background, attended boarding school and was a graduate of Smith College, yet she chose to join the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II and made significant contributions on behalf of our country.

Diploma from Le Cordon Bleu 

At the OSS she met Paul Child. The couple married and later Mr. Child joined the United States Foreign Service. They moved to Paris when the State Department assigned him to a position with the US Information Agency there.

Julia’s affluent family had a cook while she was growing up, so she never had a reason to rummage through kitchen cabinets wondering what to eat. Her husband, a bit of a gourmand, is the one who introduced her to fine cuisine.

In Paris she took this newfound interest in food seriously and pursued it by attending the famous Le Cordon Bleu cooking school and studying privately with a number of accomplished French chefs. She joined a cooking club, Le Cercle des Gourmettes, which led to her meeting the women who would eventually become her co-authors in writing Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Child's Kitchen at the Smithsonian's
National Museum of American History in DC

She taught, wrote articles and penned a regular column for The Boston Globe newspaper. She then became the TV personality she is most known for. The unedited program let her authenticity and approachability shine through. She brought an interest in food and new ingredients to the masses and has been credited with nudging grocers to expand their offerings to include, what was at the time, more foreign and unfamiliar ingredients. Through her show she also introduced the country to other renowned chefs and their cooking techniques.

In addition to food, Julia also had an interest in wine. She was a good friend of vintner Robert Mondavi and together, along with others, founded the American Institute of Wine and Food. The organization’s charter was to ‘advance the understanding, appreciation and quality of wine and food.’ As she strode down her long and prestigious path, she picked up numerous honors and awards along the way, including an Emmy award in 1966.

A Big Fan

Julia donated her kitchen, which served as the set for three of her television programs, to the National Museum of American History, which is part of the Smithsonian in Washington, DC. Her husband had designed the kitchen for her, including high counters to accommodate her 6 foot 2 inch height. It is on permanent display as part of an exhibit titled FOOD: Transforming the American Table 1950–2000.

Along with her passing, a more genteel way of cooking, teaching and sharing died too. She was a force, a one-of-a-kind, a visionary and a character. There is no one like her today.

Julia had nothing in common with current ‘celebrity’ chefs, and I would doubt she would have liked much on the Food Network. She had a fascinating life and made many true, long-lasting contributions.

I know it is popular, but I really dislike the Food Network, particularly all the reality TV challenges they air ad nauseam. I don’t respect or like most of the so-called ‘stars.’ I find them a bit arrogant and don’t learn from them. In the beginning they had some fun and interesting shows, but that was then.

1966 Emmy Award

There is one exception, Ina Garten. She reminds me a bit of Julia and would fit well on PBS. She had an early career in government, working for the White House Office of Management and Budget. She also didn’t know much about food but one day happened to notice an ad for a small gourmet store in the Hamptons on Long Island. Deciding to take a huge leap of faith by changing careers mid-life, she bought the store and was successful from day one.

She appears to be warm, approachable and easy going. Her recipes are not complicated, are thoroughly tested, (surprisingly many recipes in cookbooks are not) and are very good. Watching her happy show gives viewers the sense they can recreate her meals, and perhaps throw a fabulous party with flair and ease. Like Julia, she is a person to be respected; creating a successful business out of a belief in herself that blossomed into so much more.

A movie was made a few years back titled Julie and Julia. I would have loved it had it not included Julie, a tiresome self-centered girl who dramatically agonized over cooking every recipe in Julia’s cookbook. Julia’s life was so compelling and she was well portrayed by Meryl Streep. Julie was simply a downer.

Maybe someday a fine documentary will be made to honor her exceptional life. Meanwhile, I will continue to cook from Mastering the Art of French Cooking all these years later. The only difference is, instead of borrowing it from the library, I have my own long-since faded and soiled copy.

Bon Appétit!