My Lunch with Julia…
Enter my kitchen, and you’ll see what we lovingly refer to as “the patron saint of la cuisine (or “kitchen”)… an autographed 8x10 glossy of Julia Child, signed “To Tim & Jeannie, Bon Appetit! Julia Child.”
America may have given the world the Big Mac, but on cuisine’s upscale side America’s gift to fine food was cooking doyenne Julia Child, who—on August 15th--would have celebrated her 100th birthday. In 1991, I was fortunate enough to work with Julia, publicizing her speech on “Fear of Food,” and even more fortunate to be one of five to share an intimate lunch with her.
At 78, she had begun to be a bit stooped. but nevertheless, at over six feet tall, Julia was as imposing a figure physically as she was reputation-wise. During lunch we discussed a variety of culinary and personal topics, including the failing of her husband Paul, who, she sadly told us was battling Alzheimer’s. She also noted how lucky women are today to enjoy so many avenues to learn cooking, from TV shows, videos, cooking schools and the wealth of recipes books. Julia explained, "Fifty years ago when I began to cook, my only references were Gourmet Magazine and Larousse's Gastronomique."
Although she did vocalize her disdain for the popularized “fake” butters and low-cal options that sacrificed flavor for supposed health benefits, Julia was hardly a food snob. When the subject of “fast food restaurants” arose, Julia surprised us, admitting she DID frequent McDonald’s because—like the rest of us—she’d have a Big Mac attack!
I was a little intimidated to bring up to Julia verification of a story I’d heard a couple years earlier when attending an event at a Pittsburgh cooking school. The owner had just returned from a forum that featured Ms. Child where she was asked “what her favorite lunch would be.” In his best falsetto Child impersonation, the owner relayed Julia’s answer, “My favorite lunch would beeeeee... a chicken salad sandwich on whole wheat...and a scotch on the rocks…HOLD the chicken salad sandwich!”
(With her great off-camera sense of humor, I can imagine it was probably true.)
HAPPY 100th JULIA CHILD!
Enter my kitchen, and you’ll see what we lovingly refer to as “the patron saint of la cuisine (or “kitchen”)… an autographed 8x10 glossy of Julia Child, signed “To Tim & Jeannie, Bon Appetit! Julia Child.”
America may have given the world the Big Mac, but on cuisine’s upscale side America’s gift to fine food was cooking doyenne Julia Child, who—on August 15th--would have celebrated her 100th birthday. In 1991, I was fortunate enough to work with Julia, publicizing her speech on “Fear of Food,” and even more fortunate to be one of five to share an intimate lunch with her.
At 78, she had begun to be a bit stooped. but nevertheless, at over six feet tall, Julia was as imposing a figure physically as she was reputation-wise. During lunch we discussed a variety of culinary and personal topics, including the failing of her husband Paul, who, she sadly told us was battling Alzheimer’s. She also noted how lucky women are today to enjoy so many avenues to learn cooking, from TV shows, videos, cooking schools and the wealth of recipes books. Julia explained, "Fifty years ago when I began to cook, my only references were Gourmet Magazine and Larousse's Gastronomique."
Although she did vocalize her disdain for the popularized “fake” butters and low-cal options that sacrificed flavor for supposed health benefits, Julia was hardly a food snob. When the subject of “fast food restaurants” arose, Julia surprised us, admitting she DID frequent McDonald’s because—like the rest of us—she’d have a Big Mac attack!
I was a little intimidated to bring up to Julia verification of a story I’d heard a couple years earlier when attending an event at a Pittsburgh cooking school. The owner had just returned from a forum that featured Ms. Child where she was asked “what her favorite lunch would be.” In his best falsetto Child impersonation, the owner relayed Julia’s answer, “My favorite lunch would beeeeee... a chicken salad sandwich on whole wheat...and a scotch on the rocks…HOLD the chicken salad sandwich!”
(With her great off-camera sense of humor, I can imagine it was probably true.)
HAPPY 100th JULIA CHILD!
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