history - chefs: Julia Child

Julia Child 1912 - 2004

How does one do justice to the lady that started the craze of TV chefs, (though she wasn't the first . . . just the one that made it famous) who was the first of the first, who became a respected member of the culinary community and who the inspiration for many of today's cooks, chefs and foodies alike? To the 6 foot 2, lady that entertained the world over, not to mention generation upon generation. She informed us, entertained us and made us laugh all at the same time.

Sadly Julia passed away two days short of her ninety-second birthday, and two days short of my forty-fifth. Over twice my age, she seemed to have twice my energy. I can only hope, dream, dare to be half the cook she was.

I have garnered as much of her life as I can, from the various news agencies, from the 'obituaries' published and put them into a time line that I hope you will find interesting reading. My thanks to all those agencies for the information.

1912
Born in Pasadena, California, USA (Julia McWilliams)on August 15th to Carol and John McWilliams; a well-to-do real estate investor and businessman who employed a full time cook, to cook for the family.

1933
She collected $1,000 from her father on her twenty-first birthday, who promised her it, if she gave up smoking until she was twenty-one, as she was fond of puffing on his cigars. Apparently after collecting the money, she started smoking again and did so for another thirty years.

1934
After graduating from a private boarding school in California, she attended Smith College, her mother's alma mater, in Northampton, Mass. in 1934 leaving with a history degree. Her first work was in New York in advertising, where she wrote advertising copy for the furniture store in New York City: W. & J. Sloane.

1937
Returned to California shortly before her mother died, in 1937. Wrote for local publications she remained at the family home for the next four years and was involved with the Red Cross.

1944
After the bombing of Pearl Harbour, she decided to enter government service and gained a position with the Office of Strategic Services in Washington, DC, (later to be called the CIA) and ended up in Sri Lanka after a month long trip with 3,000 soldiers on board. She raised in the ranks to an administrator and her position gave her high level security clearance and required her to process highly secretive documents.

She met Paul Child, a widely travelled OSS officer and artist known for his sophisticated palate, and a bit of a reputation for being a ladies man. It was he that introduced her to the wonders of food.

1945
Both Julia and Paul were stationed in Kunming, China

1946
Paul and Julia married on September 01 in the USA

1948
At the end of 1948, Paul Child was assigned to the US Information Service at The American Embassy in Paris. It was after the five day crossing from the USA, that Julia's palate and love of food was cemented, with a meal at Rouen of natural oysters, sole Meuniere and a green salad, complimented with Pouilly Fuissé.

She immersed herself in the culture, learning the French language and discovering the food that until then she had only known about from the avid descriptions Paul and given her.

It was here in Paris that Julia enrolled in the 'Le Cordon Bleu Cooking School' and met Simone Beck (known as Simca)and Louisette Bertholle with whom she would later open a cooking school: L'Ecole des Trois Gourmandes (The school of the three Gourmandes) at which they taught French cuisine to other Americans in Paris. It also commenced a writing partnership with them.

1961
Mastering the Art of French Cooking, a book written with Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle was published by Knopf, after being rejected by Houghton Mifflin, for being 'too much like an encyclopaedia'. The book being written in a long distance collaboration after Julia moved to Marseilles, Germany, Norway and finally Cambridge, Mass. In it they demystified French cuisine, explaining absolutely everything, translating absolutely everything, so even the most modest home cook could achieve great results.

1962
In February 1962, her iconic TV chef career was born when she went to a Boston television station: WGBH-Boston, to promote her first book, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" To liven up the interview, she brought with her an omelette pan, a whisk, an apron, eggs and a hotplate, and in her usual chatty manner whipped up an omelette in front of the cameras. A simple dish, that in the hands of a person and persona like Julia was pure showmanship

1963
After her initial interview, WGBH-Boston spotted her potential and the station asked Julia to try out for a pilot. The letters flooded in asking for more and a series of TV cooking shows and 'The French Chef' was born on February 11, 1963.

Her infectious manner, her out of breath delivery and that unusual accent made her an instant hit. Not to mention of course her enthusiastic delivery and the similes she loved to use to describe the food, the texture and/or the process: "dough as soft as a baby's bottom" or words to those effect.

My own favourite memory was at the end of a cooking a dish, she exclaimed "and Vee-oh-la as the French would say" (Voila), it had me in stitches and later knowing she had quite a command of the French language made me realise just how much of a showperson she was.

Long before the Gourmet Galloped, Chef Ramsey yelled abuse at his staff and before Jamie Oliver was even born, there was Julia Child. Suddenly a star a the age of 51! The series did a 119 programme run until 1966

Television career

After some 200 programs on classical French cooking, she branched out into more contemporary cuisine with television series such as:

• Julia Child & Company
• Julia Child & More Company
• Dinner at Julia's
• The French Chef
• The Way to Cook
• Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home
• Cooking with Master Chefs
• Baking with Julia

Publishing career

Cook books of Julia's include:

1961 - Mastering the Art of French Cooking
1968 - The French Chef Cookbook
1970 - Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. II
1975 - From Julia Child's Kitchen
1978 - Julia Child & Company"
1979 - Julia Child & More Company"
1989 - The Way to Cook
1991 - Julia Child's Menu Cookbook
1993 - Cooking with Master Chefs
1995 - In Julia Child's Kitchen with Master Chefs

1965/66
Child won distinguished awards in broadcasting: a Peabody in 1965 and an Emmy in 1966

1966
November 25th, Julia appears on the cover of Time magazine, check it at: www.time.com/time/magazine/archive/covers/0,16641,1101661125,00.html

1967
She was awarded the Ordre de Merite Agricole in 1967 by the French government and appeared on the cover of Time magazine

1968
Her second book "The French Chef Cookbook" was a collection of the recipes she had demonstrated on the show of the same name.

1970
"Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. II" was published; again in conjunction with her friend Simone Beck, but by this time they had ended their partnership with Louisette Bertholle

1975
Julia's fourth book, "From Julia Child's Kitchen", was published and was illustrated with photographs by her husband, Paul.

1976
Awarded the Ordre de Mérite Nationale by the French government

1978
"Julia Child & Company" published

1979
"Julia Child & More Company" published

1980
Julia became the first woman member of La Commanderie des Cordons Bleus de France.

1981
Julia founded the American Institute of Wine and Food, in California with Robert Mondavi and Richard Graff. In an interview years later (1998) she explained to an interviewer: "We're an educational institution, like a museum or a library. We have nothing to do with feeding the hungry… I'm about feeding the soul."

1982
From 1982 to 1986 she authored a monthly cooking column in Parade Magazine

1984
Julia completed six "The Way to Cook" teaching videocassettes.

1989
"The Way to Cook" published

1991
"Julia Child's Menu Cookbook" (a one-volume edition of "Julia Child & Company" and "Julia Child & More Company"

1993
"Cooking with Master Chefs" published

1994
Paul Child passes away

1995
"In Julia Child's Kitchen with Master Chefs" published

Awarded an Emmy for the "Master Chef" Series

1997
Awarded an Emmy for "Baking with Julia

1998
Receives a Distinguished Service award from the Wine Spectator magazine in 1998

2001
Julia Child left her Cambridge family home in 2001, after living there for forty-two years. She moved to a retirement community in California, donating the house and office to Smith College. She gave the kitchen, which her husband had designed and which had served as the set for three of her television series, to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington DC This reconstructed kitchen is now on view there. For a virtual tour of the kitchen go to:
http://americanhistory.si.edu/juliachild/ (requires Flash)

2003
President Bush gave her a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honour.

Among the many accolades and achievements in her career were:

• Receiving honorary degrees from:
• Boston University
• Bates College
• Rutgers University
• Smith College
• Harvard University
• Honorary member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Radcliffe College
• French Ordre de Mérite Agricole, Ordre de Mérite Nationale, and Confrérie de Cèrés.

She was also elected:

• a member of the Confrérie de Ceres for her work on French bread
• a member of the American chapter of the Commandérie Des Cordons Bleus de France
• Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor
• French Ordre de Mérite Agricole
• Ordre de Mérite Nationale

Mrs Child was an active member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, and a cofounder of the American Institute of Wine & Food.

She wrote columns for McCall's Parade and Food & Wine, as well as a regular on ABC's "Good Morning America" and the Food Channel.

What of her husband? Paul Child, who was ten years Julia's senior was a full partner in her career, not only being responsible for awakening her passion for food, but he also encouraged her cooking and helped with the television shows by shopping and doing other behind-the-scenes work, as well as serving as her manager and official photographer. Paul died in 1994, after living in a nursing home for five years.

In closing, what can one say about this grand dame of the cooking world, the cook of cooks? (to borrow from a description given the the French master, Esoffier) I take off my tocque and claim:

She will be sadly missed . . . . .

Child passed away in her sleep, at her home in an assisted-living centre in Montecito, about 90 miles Northwest of Los Angeles. With family, friends and her kitten, Minou with her.

email chef@tallyrand.info