Posted
by Tom King
August 20, 2004 at 1:11 p.m.
Save The Liver!
"Her gourmet philosophy included drinking. In one TV program, chef and friend Jacques Pepin asked her what kind of wine she preferred with picnics [:] red or white. "I like beer" Child said enthusiastically, pulling out a cold bottle and two glasses. "We'd go to the market and she'd buy Wonder Bread," Pepin said in a telephone interview. "She had no snobbism about food whatsoever." Child also expressed a fondness for hamburgers, which she ate while recovering from 2002 knee-replacement surgery." " abc.news.com. Age 89."Julia Child, the celebrated cook, author and television personality who elevated the nation's culinary standards, died in her sleep early Friday morning at an assisted living home in Montecito, Calif. She was 91. As America's gastronomic guru, she had no peer. She taught us to relish food and wine as a way of appreciating life's bounty. From this brave new world of food, there is no turning back." " Sylvia Lindman, msnbc.com.Julia traveled the world and it promoted remarkable growth in her sensitivity to flavor. She focused on French food not as a style but as a righteous approach to living--and who can honestly deny that? Spain, maybe. Brazil."She loved food and loved the camaraderie that came with it. "Dining with one's friends and beloved family is certainly one of life's primal and most innocent delights, one that is both soul-satisfying and eternal," she said in the introduction to her seventh book, "The Way to Cook." In spite of food fads, fitness programs, and health concerns, we must never lose sight of a beautifully conceived meal." " cnn.com. When I decided to work with food, I faced an important decision: school or self-education. I'd been reading a lot of Mark Twain at the time and he said, "Self-education is the only education there is". I found that appealing. To me, it connoted prolonged interest and enthusiasm. So I got work in the kitchens of chefs whose food I admired and I got paid to learn. I lived in dumps and spent most of my money on wine and books. On a tip from a wizard bookseller, and because of the title, the first tome I took home was "Mastering the Art of French Cooking". Everything I cooked from that book tasted better than anything I'd cooked before. It was a real education. Then I developed this nearly weird interest in "The French Chef"; I rented and re-rented the tapes--that episode when she was disarmingly frank with a chicken. There was a cult of us in L.A. at the time, these intense young cooking guys into Julia Child. We'd stink up the bars after work and talk shortbread. Her recipes were bulletproof, thoroughly tested--you always defaulted to Julia. I'm on my fourth copy of "Baking with Julia" and "Julia's Kitchen Wisdom," a potent distillation, is a constant reference. I've never found a lie in any of her work."....Asked by an interviewer what food she didn't like to eat, Child snapped back, "Food that is badly cooked." ....At a public event, she was once asked what was her favorite meal. Instantly, she reeled off the menu of a seven-course feast. Asked how anyone could eat all that, Child said, "You don't, but you taste everything." ....In another interview she said, "You have to eat to cook. You can't be a good cook and be a non-eater. I think eating is the secret to good cooking." " cnn.com.In ways abstract and concrete, I've been learning from Julia Child for a long time. She has influenced profoundly the way I perceive and perform my work, and moved me to try to do better in general. I love her way; the only expression for it is French: joie de vivre. She talked the talk and she walked the walk, she danced on every dotted line, she made people happy, and wiser, and she had a good time. Life was her instrument and she did play. Here's to Julia."America is fortunate that Julia Child lived among us. Her hearty appetite, curious nature and passion for the pleasures of life were contagious, not only for those who actually made her recipes but for all of us. Because of her, American food, at home and in restaurants, no longer means perfection salad, overcooked peas and roast beef. It means the infinite variety of fresh seafood, grains, fruits and berries, nuts, vegetables, poultry and meat raised and served in appetizing array from coast to coast." " Sylvia Lindman, msnbc.com.
and 1 others
Comments
Lawrence.com does not necessarily agree with comments posted below - responsibility lies with the relevant user alone. Read our full policy.
quinno (Patrick Quinn) says…
"Life was her instrument and she did play." Well said.
I recall a BP night when you and I talked about Julia Child. (You talked, I listened.) If a non-cook wanted to read one of JC's books, which would you recommend?
tomking (Tom King) says…
Man, those BP summit meetings. Could it ever be as it was?
For cooking instruction, the slim "Julia's Kitchen Wisdom" and "Baking with Julia" are indispensable--solid and basic.
For fun reading as well as good instruction, try "Cooking with Master Chefs".
barr (Jason Barr) says…
Tom, your the only man who could make me think about shortbread. I love it. I think I may have found another reason to attempt cooking something other than your typical BBQ. Thanks for a great blog, friend.
-jbarr
edie_ (anonymous) says…
I loved her speaking voice. She spent her last days eating institutional food. I need to leave this country.
Shelby (anonymous) says…
great blog. I remember watching a show of hers when I was a kid, and she was getting genuinely pissed at the cameraman for lagging. Only someone serious about her work would do that at the risk of looking like a jerk on national tv.
Shelby (anonymous) says…
Remember Jeff Smith, the Frugal Gourmet? I probably learned more about cooking from him than I did from any other tv personality.
Then he was found out to be a child molester. O-bla-di o-bla-da.
1981 (Jason Barr) says…
Wait as sec? He was a what? Seriously?
Shelby (anonymous) says…
Turns out he was never charged with a crime...7 men filed suit against him...but that really has no bearing on his ability to teach you how to cook stuff. He taught me a lot.
died in July.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/showbiz/tv/07...
1981 (Jason Barr) says…
I was just wondering. I used to watch the show with my Mom a lot. I can't say I learned a lot, but that was because I wasn't really paying attention. Interesting....