America’s First Lady of Cooking
Julia Child’s warbling, high-pitched greeting—“This is Julia Child. Bon appétit!”—still evokes a range of emotions for many of us. Inevitably it includes a broad smile. This towering figure of French cuisine continues to inspire fond memories, having captured the hearts of Americans across generations.
What was her secret? Most people agreed it was her refreshingly honest and quirky, entertaining personae. However, that said, no one ever underestimated her knowledge of French cooking or her technical proficiency. Julia knew her stuff having been trained at the prestigious Cordon Bleu in Paris in the 50’s. Add to that her 30 years living in France. Who, I ask you, could not be a fan of this powerhouse of energy, expertise and exuberance?
A television pioneer
A year following the success of Julia’s first cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cuisine, published in 1961, she joined earlier television pioneers Dione Lucas, James Beard and Lena Richard by launching her own cooking show. Thanks to “The French Chef” and its popular ten year run on WGBH, Julia gets credit for solidifying the television genre. Today there are over 400 cooking shows available to satisfy the hungry and curious viewer.
From the beginning, Julia represented the ideal of the American home cook exploring the realm of France’s haute cuisine. Her greatest achievement was demystifying it and teaching her followers how to be comfortable with its complexity. And to have fun with it.
An invader of modern technology
Julia entered the scene at a time when modern American women were looking for ways to stay out of the kitchen. Amid the mid-50’s explosion of industrially produced processed foods and TV dinners, Julia seduced us back into the kitchen. Her 37 years on air, with six different cooking series, taught Americans not just how to eat better, but how to dine. Her audience was introduced to classic French flavors based on seasonal, fresh ingredients. Using clear, step-by-step instructions, Julia made French cuisine accessible to us. Her fearless, “what the hell” cooking method, as she called it, taught her viewers to embrace their kitchen mistakes—as she herself often did on camera— rather than fear them.
Julia meet Marsha
From an early age, I was a big Julia fan. When I started my career in food and wine here in New York City in the late 70’s, I was fortunate to have met her on numerous occasions. Mary Lyons, my boss and mentor at Food and Wine from France, was one of Julia’s many pals. Often when Julia came to town for work, she’d phone Mary to see if she was free for lunch. Mary would bring me along as her little assistant to dine with the famous Julia at one of many fine French restaurants at the time such as Lutèce, La Caravelle, or Veau d’Or.
I recall sitting there tongue-tied in front of my favorite culinary rock star. I realize now what a huge education it was for me just listening to Julia and Mary chattering about everything from politics to fashion to industry gossip, and of course, anything French. Over a dry martini for Mary and a scotch for Julia, they would catch up like old friends, then tuck into a three-course lunch accompanied by un bon vin. Before leaving Julia always insisted on going into the kitchen to shake hands with the entire staff. Of everyone, she spent the most time with the dishwasher to learn about his life and thank him for her delicious experience.
Julia’s profound influence
Many of my friends knew Julia personally or had careers dramatically affected by her. I asked them to share their experiences. Let’s start with Bill Arp, retired network news producer, who recounted how working through Julia’s two early cookbooks changed things forever for his wife and him. Bear in mind, this was well before Nora Ephron wrote the highly popular film, “Julie & Julia.” This was based on blogger Julie Powell’s book about her year cooking all 524 recipes in Julia’s first cookbook. While Julia was aware of the project, she supposedly embraced Julie’s talent more as a writer than as a serious cook.
Just a couple thoughts about Julia and “Art of French Cooking” … (my first wife) Leslie Revsin and I was either given or purchased Volume 1 in the mid 60’s. We were young, tireless, and creative. I was in grad school chasing an English Lit PhD … Leslie was finishing her degree in studio art, and we were living in a food desert (Minneapolis/StPaul). We both sort of cooked: Leslie had some family favs, and I home cooked with some exotic twists from my years living in Japan. We decided to try one or two of Julia’s recipes. We had seen her on tv and felt an immediate affection for her style and precision. We pushed onto more and more complicated recipes and came to cassoulet… our first three-day cooking adventure.
By the time we moved to NYC in 1967, we were collecting copper pots, real knives, and a lot of kitchen “small machines” like blenders, pasta makers, woks and so forth. By the early 70’s, we felt like we had learned well from Julia and decided to press on when Volume 2 hit the streets in 1971. New challenges!
Changes were occurring at our home. Leslie decided to go to New York Tech’s restaurant school in Brooklyn. She was, at that time, a home baker who supplied palmiers and pithiviers to local buyers and coffee shops. A spark was lit by Leslie who found her life and ambitions in the professional kitchen. She went on to become, arguably, the first important woman chef in the city. Me? I still cook out my threadbare, broken backed, multi-tabbed 1960ish Volume of JC’s greatest kitchen classic.
Bill was correct that Leslie became a trailblazer in 1973 by becoming the first female chef in the kitchen of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Later she had her own place, the highly acclaimed Restaurant Leslie, in Greenwich Village. All of that was inspired by Julia.
Juilia, a master of human connection
Bill’s current wife, wine and food marketer Lila Gault, has her own story to showcase Julia’s extraordinary people skills.
For much of my career, I had a small pr agency in New York specializing in food and wine. In the early '90's we represented British American Anne Willan, a prolific cookbook author and celebrated owner of La Varenne Cooking School in Paris. Anne was a colleague and close friend of Julia Child. They often appeared together and I was often in tow. I would routinely introduce myself to Julia, thinking of the hundreds of people she had met since we had last seen each other. She would smile and say a friendly hello, until finally she said, Lila, you have no need to introduce yourself. I know who you are. There’s only one Lila Gault.
As Lila concluded, Julia was as genuine, warm and gracious in real life as she was on television.
An up-close view of Julia
Sara Moulton, American chef, cookbook author, and “Dean of food television” as described by the NYTimes, was one of Julia’s favorite protégées. She first worked with Julia in the late ‘70s as the associate chef and food stylist on her PBS show “Julia Child and More Company.” Later Sara collaborated with her on all of Julia’s “GMA” cooking segments.
Sara was interviewed in 2011 by Lauren Torrisi on ABC News about her fondest memories of Julia. Sara told her that Julia was one of the funniest people she had ever met because she always said exactly what was on her mind, even if she knew it was not going to be popular.
I remember one time being at a professional culinary conference (the IACP) at a huge lunch in a ballroom with maybe 2,000 people present. It was the height of the food police’s assault on fat. They told us we were not supposed to eat fat of any kind at any time for any reason. Well Julia raises her hand right in the middle of lunch and comments (with her unique Julia voice), “But I don’t understand. I mean, I just don’t agree that there is anything wrong with butter. I love butter. We should all eat more butter.
Julia’s infectious sense of humor
Julia was a kick. Her unbridled sense of humor and pure joie de vivre was loved by everyone. Jan Hazard, former food editor of Ladies Home Journal, tells this charming story about her encounter with Julia and meeting her younger sister, Dorothy. Turns out, Dort, as she was called, was as funny and fun as her sister.
I remember being invited to a taping of Julia Child’s television series “In Julia’s Kitchen with Master Chefs” which she taped in the early 90’s in her home kitchen in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Dorothy, Julia’s sister, was present and full of amusing anecdotes about growing up with Julia and their brother. Each sibling was at least six feet tall. “Our mother used to tell everyone she gave birth to 18 feet of children!”
Not to be outdone, Julia jumped in and recounted one of her favorite stories about an outing with her sister to a Lane Bryant store (a clothing chain for tall women). She asked Dort if she remembered when they were trying on clothes as young women and seeing hairy legs under the dressing room curtain. “We were competing with transvestites for the best outfits!!!” both laughing hysterically.
The eternally curious teacher
But Julia was not just about knowing how to cook and having a warm, ebullient personality. She was also immensely curious. I asked gastroenterologistg and wine writer Dr. Michael Apstein, who lived close to Julia in Massachusetts, if they had ever met.
I did know Julia. She introduced me to sugar snap peas at a cooking class held at Radcliffe in 1969, which was the same year Calvin Lamborn created it by cross breeding a snow pea with a mutant shelling pea. I have no idea how she got a supply so early because they weren’t available commercially for another decade. She passed them out to the audience!
Julia’s enduring popularity
What fascinates me most now is the longevity of Julia’s popularity even among today’s younger generations. Yes, everyone young and old howls with laughter when they watch replays of SNL’s famous sketch by comedian Dan Aykroyd playing Julia demonstrating how to bone a chicken. But I suspect that her appeal to younger Americans is rooted in something else. Without a doubt, Julia’s authentic personality and anti-perfectionist approach to cooking resonates with them. But others suggest that her appeal stems from her ability to reinvent herself. Let’s not forget that before moving to France with her husband, Paul, she had a career working as a research assistant for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II. Her decision to switch gears at age 32 and try something entirely different speaks to younger generations, many of whom face career burnout.
For my generation Julia’s enduring appeal is reflected in her perseverance and unapologetically joyful approach to French gastronomy. What I admire most about her can be summed up in her philosophy: work hard, master your technique and have fun. These guidelines worked brilliantly for her career in food, however, they are equally transferable to any profession or passion you might have. Thank-you, Julia.
NB: Check out this week’s recipe for “Coq au vin“ which I prepared using a simplified version of Julia’s original one from The Art of French Cooking, Volume 1.