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CULINARY INFO
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"DISCLAIMER"
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Julia Child: 1912 - 2004 (August 13)
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 todays 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 92nd birthday, and two days short of my 45th. 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 'obituries' 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 $1000 from here father on her 21st birthday, who promised her it, if she gave up smoking until she was 21, as she was fond of puffing on nis cigars. Apparantly after collecting the money, she started smoking again and did so for another 30 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, D.C., (later to be called the C.I.A.) 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 traveled O.S.S. 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 U.S. 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 enroled 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 encyclopedia'. The book being written in a long distance collaboration after Julia moved to Marseilles, Germany, Norway and finally Cambridge, Mass. In it they de-mystified French cuisine, explaining absoloutly everything, translating absoloutly 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 omelet pan, a whisk, an apron, eggs and a hotplate, and in her usual chatty manner whipped up an omelet 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 ansd 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 42 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, D.C., this reconstructed kitchen is now on view there. For a virtual tour of the kitchen go to http://americanhistory.si.edu/juliachild/ (requires Flashplayer 6)
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 co-founder 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 10 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 torque and claim :
She will be sadly missed.........................
Child passed away in her sleep, at her home in an assisted-living center in Montecito, about 90 miles northwest of Los Angeles. With family, friends and her kitten, Minou with her.
