Julia Child

timeline

born 1912

One of the most well-known chefs in the world, Julia Child was committed to culinary instruction and promoting the enjoyment of food. Her cooking show was one of the first to take a meal all the way to the table ~ the whole reason for cooking! She and her husband Paul loved exploring food everywhere they went in the world {they lived all over due to their, and later just his, government jobs}.

Julia approached cooking with a scientific mind {her wartime job with the OSS was as a researcher}. She stayed current on nutrition, food additives + bioengineering, as well as any subject that interested her or her viewers...like the most humane way to kill lobsters. The famous Mastering the Art of French Cooking was just the start of a lifetime of classics.

bio bits

known for

warmth and generosity | her husband Paul called it "Juliafication" ~ her ability to charm a room full of people. Audiences loved her down-to-earth attitude toward cooking {particularly when making mistakes!} and the total absence of elitism ~ she appeared on Good Morning America and was PARADE magazine's food editor from 1982-1986, and is said to have adored McDonald's

learning and teaching | Julia enrolled in several cooking courses before she found her calling in Paris. Her early cooking was disastrous ~ one of her missions was to clarify instruction and teaching people to simply cook and enjoy good food. Her Julia Child Foundation sponsors grants for nonprofits for culinary and gastronomic education, and she helped create a Master of Liberal Arts degree in Gastronomy at Boston University. But her first foray into teaching was with Mastering the Art of French Cooking co-authors Simone Beck + Louisette Bertholle, with whom she opened the cooking school L'Ecole des Trois Gourmandes in 1952, charging $5 a lesson.

French cooking | her famous cooking shows started with The French Chef {original episodes produced from 1963-1966 and1970-1973}. The book that started it all ~ Mastering the Art of French Cooking ~ demystified French cooking for American cooks. During her 40-year career, Julia included American recipes and kept her techniques modern, but remained true to the very French principle of bon appetit!

three big moments

1949 | enrolls in Le Cordon Bleu, where she learns from chef Max Bugnard. She graduated in 1951 ~ after failing the first exam, she retook {and passed} a year later. She was living in Paris with husband Paul, whom she met in 1944 while working in Ceylon {Sri Lanka} as Chief of the OSS Registry {the OSS is now known as the CIA}. Paul was her champion and partner in every way ~ the illustrations in Mastering the Art of French Cooking were based on his photographs, and his photos appear in some of her other books. With Paul, Julia lived all over the world, always discovering and enjoying great food

1961 | Mastering the Art of French Cooking published. Manuscript was rejected by Houghton Mifflin twice before it was accepted by Judith Jones at Alfred A. Knopf. The second volume is published in 1970. A publicity interview where Julia whisked eggs inspired the television show, The French Chef

1995 | founds Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts, an organization supporting culinary education and the appreciation of great food

fast facts

from | to

advertising copywriter | world-famous cookbook author, teacher and television personality

~ worked for OSS developing shark repellent during WWII ~

born on

August 15, 1912

born in

Pasadena, California

birth name

Julia Carolyn McWilliams

citizen of

United States of America

daughter of

Julia Carolyn (Caro) Weston + John McWilliams

~ while traveling in Tijuana in 1925, Julia's parents were elated to eat at Caesar's and meet the famous chef, introducing their daughter to a love of gastronomy ~

sister of

John and Dorothy

grew up in | lived in

Pasadena, California | Paris and Provence ~ Cambridge, Massachusetts ~ Montecito, California

educated at | studied with

Smith College

~ BA History, 1934 ~

École Cordon Bleu | Max Bugnard

~ graduated 1951, after failing her first exam in 1950 ~

married to

Paul Cushing Child

~ her champion and biggest supporter ~ he designed her famous kitchen, perfectly proportioned for 6'2" Julia ~

advocate for | worked alongside

education ~ demystifying French cooking | Avis DeVoto, Simone Beck, Louisette Bertholle, Judith Jones

in her spare time

basketball + theater | at Smith College

~ always learning something new ~

accolades

3 Emmy awards {plus 5 nominations}
1 Peabody
10 honorary doctorates
13 James Beard Foundation awards
6 book awards
L'Ordre du Mérite Agricole ~ 1967
L'Ordre National du Mérite ~ 1976
first woman inducted into Culinary Institute of America's Hall of Fame {from one CIA to another} ~ 1993
L'Ordre National de la Légion d'Honneur ~ 2000
Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences ~ 2000
Presidential Medal of Freedom ~ 2003

died on

August 13, 2004

image credit

Meghan Miller Brawley

collapse bio bits

today

explore

her quotes

all quotes by Julia Child (11)

"People who love to eat are always the best people."
to Avis DeVoto | january 1953

"HELL AND DAMNATION, is all I can say. WHY DID WE EVER DECIDE TO DO THIS ANYWAY? But I can't think of doing anything else, can you?"
to Simone "Simca" Beck | summer 1958

"I could boil water for tea but my first big recipe was shark repellent that I mixed in a bathtub for the Navy, for the men who might get caught in the water."
told to her producer Margaret Sullivan | january 1965

"Wine is part of the food chain."
Quarterly Review of Wines | september 1991

"Tears mess up your makeup."
What I've Learned | june 2001

"If you're in a good profession, it's hard to get bored, because you're never finished—there will always be work you haven't yet done."
What I've Learned | june 2001

"Moderation. Small helpings. Sample a little bit of everything. These are the secrets of happiness and good health."
What I've Learned | june 2001

"The pleasures of the table, and of life, are infinite—toujours bon appétit!"
My Life in France | august 2004

"But I was a pure romantic, and only operating with half my burners on; I spent most of my time there [at Smith College] just growing up."
My Life in France | august 2004

"No one is born a great cook, one learns by doing."
My Life in France | august 2004

"The idea was to take the bugaboo out of French cooking."
Food: Transforming the American Table 1950 - 2000 | viewed | august 2012

quoteurs we recommend...

Emily Graslie
natural sciences curiousity correspondent

Joan Ganz Cooney
children's television trailblazer

Marjorie Husted
creative director | Betty Crocker

for further reading about Julia Child: