Bon appétit!

Julia Child was possibly the world’s most recognized chef.  She is unquestionably the most satirized, with her flair, her pearls, her distinctive voice, and her iconic “bon appétit!.  She is one of the minor but important personalities of 1960s culture.

Julia’s rise to fame started with the publication of Mastering the Art of French Cooking in 1961, a book she wrote with Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle and which was intended to make French cuisine accessible to the everyday cook.  Her television career actually began on July 26, 1962, with an appearance on a book review show on Boston’s fledgling public television station, WGBH.  During that broadcast, she demonstrated how to cook an omelette.  The segment was so well received that it led to her own show, “The French Chef”, which premiered on February 11, 1963.  The show ran for ten years, and was followed by a number of other series and specials over almost forty years.  It is probably no exaggeration that Julia Child is the mother of modern cooking television.

 

One of the many interesting tidbits about this extraordinary lady was her service in World War II.  After being rejected by the army and navy because she was too tall (6’ 2”), she joined the Office of Strategic Services – the predecessor of the modern CIA.  Her mostly clerical service with the OSS included working directly with its legendary chief, Gen. Bill Donovan and, later, "registering, cataloging and channeling a great volume of highly classified communications" for the OSS's clandestine stations in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in the Indian Ocean.

If you like to cook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking is a joy to use with its step-by-step instructions.  Be warned, however, that its liberal use of butter certainly doesn’t meet modern standards for healthy eating.  Also, Meryl Streep’s portrayal of Julia in Julie and Julia is a lot of fun if you’re looking for an entertaining way to learn more about this remarkable character.  Finally, if you’re in Washington and want to get a sense for Julia, or just pay homage, her kitchen has been preserved in the Smithsonian American History Museum.