Julia Child- A Recipe of Life Part II

Hello all back again to continue where I left off with the life of a great women, Julia Child. If you didn't get the chance to read Part I you can check it out here. Today I'll start with more on her husband, Paul than move onto more about her journey of becoming a renown chef. Along the way I will show you more of what I saw at this amazing exhibit.

Paul and his twin brother, Charles were born in 1902. They lost their father when they were just 4 months old, thier mother supported them as a singer traveling from Boston to France often. This exposed them to an international life. In the Office of Strategic Service Paul lead a Presentation Division, designing maps, diagrams, posters and even a top secret War Room for Allied generals.

Two photographs taken by Paul of Julia while they lived in France. I really dig these two black and white photos because they really have good subject matter. The one with Julia sitting on the stairs has a real type of humanity theme to it. My last photo is a drawn piece of artwork, I'm uncertain if it's Paul's work but I wouldn't be surprised if it is. Almost all photographs in this exhibit had the work of Paul's lens.

There's a book, France is a Feast that show cases over two hundred of Paul's photos while they lived in France. This book was written by one of his great nephews in 2017. Paul was very much responsible for the rise of the French Chef Julia became. Being there in the past he was very familiar with the French cuisine and introduced it to Julia.

Mastering the Art of French Cooking Vol 1 First edition 1961

In 1951, Julia graduated from the famous Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris. She joined a women's cooking club where she would meet both Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle. The three would go on to teach French cooking classes to other Americans.

The two also wanted Julia's assistance in helping out with a cook book they were having difficulties publishing. Julia quicky realized the recipes were complicated. They didn't serve American audiences well that had less equipped kitchens and limited access to some of the ingredients. Julia took leadership of the cookbook to focus on straight forward simplified recipes. There were many issues getting the book published. In the end, when the book was published it was a huge hit which led Julia forward with the title The French Chef!

Julia Child was not the first person to host a television cooking show. She is often credited as a pioneer to it though. Her warm personality, authenticity and her expertise in the French cuisine won fans over. Her passion for cooking and teaching resulted in her becoming a beloved part of the American cooking world and history.

There were a few older television sets that Americans would have owned when she was was a television cooking icon. Also some old studio equipment that would have been similar to what was used on set. In the studio set of the exhibit you could watch a few of the shows she was in. Even though some where originally aired over 60 years ago she still can grab the attention of an audience.

The exhibit had some time period kitchen equipment from the 1960's. You could walk up to it all and start opening doors to see what is behind them. Only the refrigerator had some period fake goodies. There was also something pretending to bake in the oven. What was cool is you could be filmed messing around the kitchen via the black and white screen on the the kitchen island. All the hanging pots and other cooking utensils were neat to see. These would have been Julia's kitchen tools and many Americans during this time in history.

Also at the exhibit was a digital table set. You could see different table set ups and witness the French landscape and city buildings/ monuments on the big screen. Both set ups changed numerous times. What I didn't manage to take a picture of was an interactive digital table where you play chef by determining pairings of wine, food, sauces, and more. I did one and got the first four choices correctly but did horribly after that, but it's go until you get it right, hehe.

Numerous authors have written books about her. Julia herself has authored some 20 books on her own and hosted several cooking shows asides from The French Chef. I believe there are two movies on her life and even a recent series on her. Also a commemorative stamp has been in circulation. All of this just doesn't happen to every famous person. Only individuals who made a huge difference in history with the things they did. Julia sure was this to the cooking world and arguably the biggest food icon of them all.

In 2001, Julia moved into a retirement community. She had her house donated to Smith College and her entire kitchen went to the Smithsonion Institution's National Museum of American History where it's on display. Julia passed away two days before her 92nd birthday in 2004. She continued working and helping the cooking community well into her 80's.

Well to wrap this up I share with you some quotes from Julia Child. Some of these show her humorous side.

"I enjoy cooking with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food..."

"You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces—just good food from fresh ingredients."

"I was 32 when I started cooking; up until then, I just ate."

"Find something your passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it"

"This is my invariable advice to people: Learn how to cook - try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless and above all have fun "

"Drama is very important in life: You have to come in with a bang. You never want to go out with a whimper. Everything can have drama if it's done right. Even a pancake."

I left this exhibit being a little wowed. Julia Child did so many things throughout her lifetime and along the way she ran into obstacles but she never let it stop her from what she wanted to accomplish. What an amazing women.

This is all I have for you. Take care, stay safe and enjoy the rest of the week. Until next time!