Aug. 13, 2004 -- Julia Child, the celebrated chef, author and television personality who brought French cooking to American audiences, died at her home in Santa Barbara, California. She was 91. Julia taught millions of Americans how to cook and helped to elevate the nation's culinary standards. She was one of the pioneers of what is now a billion dollar industry in America. Julia Child and James Beard began the food revolution that said fresh is good, processed is not that tasty and good cooking can be done easily and quickly. She was a major influence for me. I am not a professional chief, but I do love to cook. I am the family cook, and dishwasher. One of the first books I ever read was part of a two volume set published after WW II, called The Art of French Cooking. Julia Child and Seimone Beck wrote the first volume together. It had no photographs in it, but the drawings were lovely line illustrations. I remember reading that book over and over. I was 10 at the time.
My mother and Julia had something in common. They both worked for the OSS. The Office of Strategic Services, which was the predecessor to the CIA. Julia was in France, my mom was stationed at Pearl Harbor. Julia and her husband Paul, stayed in Europe until it was too dangerous to stick around and then they came back to Boston. Then Julia was assigned to solve a problem for U.S. naval forces during World War II: Sharks would bump into explosives that were placed underwater, setting them off and warning the German U-boats they were intended to sink. "So... Julia Child and a few of her male compatriots got together and literally cooked up a shark repellent," that was used to coat the explosives so the sharks would not tip off the German's to the presence of the anti-submarine mines.
I grew up in Santa Barbara. One day I had to do some shopping at the Von's in Monteceito, which is right next to Santa Barbara. I was picking up some turnips, and other root vegetables. I was in the check out line and I heard a voice behind me ask what I was going to make for dinner. I turned around and to my surprise it was Julia Child. She and her husband had just moved out to California so he could be near the medical specialists he needed. She was a very tall person. Over 6 feet as I recall. That was my first encounter with Julia Child. The last time I saw Julia was in the late afternoon, as the sun was setting. I was ending my shift at a local Santa Barbara Radio Station, I came out onto the street and there Julia and Paul were. Holding hands, walking down the street into the sunset. Here was this tall woman, with a shopping bag in one hand with foodstuffs hanging out, and in the other hand was her husband's hand and they were walking off into the sunset. I just stood there, relishing the moment. As it turned out, Paul died several months later.
What made Julia so accessible to people? She had a strange voice, but that never got in the way. When you watched her TV show, The French Chief, you found yourself taking notes! She made everything so easy to understand. It appeared that her goal never seemed to be perfection, only pleasure. She stood fearlessly before calories and rich food armed with her wise strategy of moderation: eating a little bit of everything to avoid missing anything. Julia was a great chef, and she was funny. Her death leaves a hole in America's cultural heart. But her legacy should keep the country well fed for decades to come. Child's signature mix of wit, culinary skill and telegenic appeal made her a welcome ambassador of French cooking. Thanks to the magic of archives, television doesn't die. Julia's cooking shows are still broadcast. So her energy, enthusiasm and humor will live on. And Julia Child will continue to be a perfect example of the joy that comes from doing what you love. We all should be so lucky.
later,
Mr. T
Social Science Rules!
Defoliate Bush in November 2004!
I made a link to this post on my blog regarding Women I Admire which you can find here:
http://mansguidebook.com/blog/archives/80
Posted by: LoringParkMan | May 05, 2006 at 12:03 AM