Julia Child Dies at 91

Root Doctor · August-13th-2004, 11:34 AM

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Julia Child, the grande dame of U.S.
television cooking shows and books, has died at age 91, her
publisher said on Friday.

Alfred A. Knopf said in a statement she died in her sleep
on Thursday at her Santa Barbara, California, home.

During World War II, Child served with the Office of
Strategic Services in Washington D.C., Sri Lanka and China.

After the war she moved to Paris with her husband, Paul
Child, who was working at the American Embassy. There, Child
began her culinary career at the Cordon Bleu. In 1961, in
collaboration with two French colleagues, she wrote "Mastering
the Art of French Cooking."

The book was groundbreaking for introducing French cooking
techniques to a country whose cuisine had been best known for
dishes like meatloaf and potatoes.

That book spawned the PBS television series "The French
Chef" and was followed by several other shows where she brought
a simple, American approach to making gourmet dishes.

Gentle Giant · August-13th-2004, 11:54 AM

Because I used to work at WGBH, where the original French Chef series was taped, I often wrote about her and worked with people who knew her well. She really was a remarkable person, held in the most reverent awe by all the local and national celebrity chefs. Very down to earth, not stuffy in the slightest. She apparently even enjoyed Dan Ayckroyd's spoof of her on Saturday Night Live.

It was a sad day in Boston a couple of years ago when she moved from her Cambridge home to California (her personal kitchen was taken apart and sent to the Smithsonian).

RIP, Chef Child.

Mingus · August-13th-2004, 11:55 AM

Way, way ahead of her time. Demystified the kitchen for a lot of folks.

RIP Julia.

sonic1 · August-13th-2004, 11:58 AM

jesus, she was THAT old?

Gentle Giant · August-13th-2004, 11:59 AM

Julia Child, whose TV shows taught millions to cook, dies at 91
By Associated Press *|* August 13, 2004

NEW YORK --Julia Child, whose warbling, encouraging voice and able hands brought the intricacies of French cuisine to American home cooks through her television series and books, died in her sleep three days before what would have been her 92nd birthday.

"America has lost a true national treasure," Nicholas Latimer, director of publicity for Alfred A. Knopf publishing, said in a statement Friday. "She will be missed terribly."

The statement said she died Thursday at her home in Santa Barbara, Calif. The cause of death was not given.

A 6-foot-2 American folk hero, "The French Chef" was known to her public as Julia, and preached a delight not only in good food but in sharing it, ending her landmark public television lessons at a set table and with the wish, "Bon appetit."

"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."

Chipper and unpretentious, she beckoned everyone to give good food a try. She wasn't always tidy in the kitchen, and just like the rest of us, she sometimes dropped things or had trouble getting a cake out of its mold.

In an A-line skirt and blouse, and an apron with a dish towel tucked into the waist, Julia Child grew familiar enough to be parodied by Dan Aykroyd on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" and the subject of Jean Stapleton's musical revue, "Bon Appetit." She was on the cover of Time magazine in 1966.

Active and a frequent traveler in her 80s, Child credited good genes and a habit begun in her 40s of eating everything in moderation.

Susy Davidson, a consultant who worked with Child on "Good Morning America," called Child's friendship a great gift.

"She's helped me redefine age, No. 1," Davidson once said. "She is the standard by which I judge all professionals. She's always eager to learn something, to try something new. She just has this generosity of spirit."

She was foremost a teacher and never lost sight of the goal set out in volume one of "Mastering the Art of French Cooking": "Anyone can cook in the French manner anywhere, with the right instruction. Our hope is that this book will be helpful in giving that instruction."

Like her friend James Beard, Child was influenced but not battered by the popularity of fast food, low-fat food, health food.

She aimed "The Way to Cook" at a new generation and while it offered plenty of recipes using butter and cream, it left room for experimentation and variation in its blend of classic French and free-style American techniques. It was a hit, with nearly 400,000 copies in print just four months after publication.

She worried, however, that the health craze was overdone.

"What's dangerous and discouraging about this era is that people really are afraid of their food," she told The Associated Press in 1989. "Sitting down to dinner is a trap, not something to enjoy. People should take their food more seriously. Learn what you can eat and enjoy it thoroughly."

Child did not take a cooking lesson until she was in her 30s. And she was in her 50s when her first television series began in 1963.

Born in Pasadena, Calif., Child once said she was raised on so-so cooking by hired cooks.

She graduated from Smith College in 1934 with a history degree and aspirations to be a novelist or a writer for the New Yorker magazine. Instead, she ended up in the publicity department of a New York City furniture and rug chain.

When World War II began, she joined the Office of Strategic Services, the forerunner of the CIA. She was sent off to do clerical chores in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), where she met Paul Child, a career diplomat who later became a photographer and painter, on the porch of a tea planter's bungalow in 1943.

They married in 1946 and two years later were sent to Paris.

Child enrolled in the famed Cordon Bleu cooking school, motivated at least in part by a desire to cook for her epicure husband. She was considered a bit odd by her friends, who all had hired help in the kitchen.

"I'd been looking for my life's work all along," she told the AP. "And when I got into cooking I found it. I was inspired by the tremendous seriousness with which they took it."

In France, she also met Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle, with whom she collaborated on "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," which was nine years in the making and became mandatory for anyone who took cooking seriously.

It was published in 1961 and was followed by "The French Chef Cookbook"; "Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. II," with Beck; "From Julia Child's Kitchen"; "Julia Child & Company"; "Julia Child & More Company"; and "The Way to Cook," in October 1989.

She was 51 when she made her television debut as "The French Chef." The series began in 1963 and continued for 206 episodes. Child won a Peabody award in 1965 and an Emmy in 1966, and went on to star in several more series for Boston's WGBH-TV.

Russell Morash, Child's director from the beginning, recalled her as "spontaneous from the outset, a natural television talent -- very relaxed but very professional."

"I happened to be the right woman at the right time," she said, noting that John F. Kennedy had a French chef at the White House and more Americans were traveling abroad.

Since the 1980s, she devoted attention to promoting the serious study of food and cooking. She co-founded the American Institute of Wine and Food in San Francisco in 1981 and co-founded the James Beard Foundation in New York City in 1986.

More recently, she teamed with fellow television chef Jacques Pepin for the 1994 PBS special, "Julia Child & Jacques Pepin: Cooking in Concert" and a 1996 sequel, "More Cooking in Concert."

Paul Child died in 1994, and in late 2001, Julia Child, a longtime resident of Cambridge, Mass., moved to Santa Barbara. The couple had no children.*

Tom Storer · August-13th-2004, 12:06 PM

RIP, Julia Child.

We borrowed one of her cookbooks, perhaps her most recent, from a foody friend and long resisted giving it back. Coming from her, the title didn't seem pretentious at all: "The Way to Cook." It's at the top of our to-buy list for cookbooks.

cookie · August-13th-2004, 12:06 PM

Julia Child was great. I'm not much of a chef myself (far too lazy), but several of my friends are devotees (as am I---of the yummy results!). I used to like to watch her cook and especially loved it when she worked with guests. It was like hangin' in the kitchen and I found it very soothing and comforting. I could *watch* people cook all day.

My favorite was when she got out the blow torch to melt sugar.

Condolences to all who loved this extraordinary woman. My thoughts are especially with Hornplayer who I know was greatly inspired by Ms. Child. I'll have to email my girlfriends who love and cook Julia's food (my best girlfriend likes to eat some kind of broiled lobster dish from Julia's repertoire where you have to stab the lobster. She found that part distasteful but the dish was tasty enough to warrant the homardicide).

Monte Smith · August-13th-2004, 12:08 PM

Julia Child's impact on American culture was quiet but enormous. Very sorry to see her pass.

Jimmy Cantiello · August-13th-2004, 12:11 PM

Cool lady. Loved to watch her shows. Never took herself too seriously....

RIP, Julia

jesus marion joseph · August-13th-2004, 12:22 PM

I second Cantiello's sentiments. RIP to a true American classic.

frankenmeister7 · August-13th-2004, 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sonic1

jesus, she was THAT old?

first, rest in peace Julia

she was 91 and towering over 6'3". now thats old and tall.

she is one of my favorite cooks from childhood. i was justing getting into her
groove when she had decided to retire.

we also have the network.tvcooking.com for a lot of cooks who are not as good as julia, but since she loved her french cooking, jacques pepin(sp) got to be her sidekick.

she would seem to be on his shows often.

RIP you crazy lady

while your're up there julia, give me some hints on how to spellcheck before i hit the button to close.

calling all twits

Valerie · August-13th-2004, 12:47 PM

i'm just so glad that she had such a long and productive life and had the great good fortune to die in her sleep. i "grew up" with her in boston and actually got to attend her 80th birthday tribute in los angeles. she was one in a million.

hornplayer · August-13th-2004, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gentle Giant

Because I used to work at WGBH, where the original French Chef series was taped, I often wrote about her and worked with people who knew her well. She really was a remarkable person, held in the most reverent awe by all the local and national celebrity chefs. Very down to earth, not stuffy in the slightest. She apparently even enjoyed Dan Ayckroyd's spoof of her on Saturday Night Live.

It was a sad day in Boston a couple of years ago when she moved from her Cambridge home to California (her personal kitchen was taken apart and sent to the Smithsonian).

RIP, Chef Child.

Well, I don't know about "reverent awe," GG, but everyone (except Madeleine Kamman) loved her.

I was lucky enough to have been one of the cooks on her 80th Birthday Bash in Boston. As part of the entertainment, she requested the video of Dan Ackroyd's spoof of her be shown....

FWIW, Frankenmeister, she never retired. and just two weeks ago, she was reported (by her ass't) to be "sharp as a tack, even tho her legs don't work so well."

She had a wonderful life, and she loved every minute of it. Now she's cooking for Paul again.

Rest in Peace, dear Friend....

Enforcer · August-13th-2004, 01:37 PM

RIP, Julia Child.

I really, really liked Julia Child. Watching her on TV with my parents as a kid was an early memory. I loved how unpretentious she was. She was so messy, I loved it! Even just a few years ago, I watched her on TV as she hosted other great chefs and let them teach *her* how they prepared certain dishes. Such a cool woman, it seemed.

I share her fears about dieting in America. People are so f**king stupid. Purging fat from their diet one year, then carbohydrates the next. Most Americans have no idea what they're talking about when it comes to nutrition. It's not that complicated, but people sure like to make it hard.

Larry

Jimmy Cantiello · August-13th-2004, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hornplayer

I was lucky enough to have been one of the cooks on her 80th Birthday Bash in Boston. As part of the entertainment, she requested the video of Dan Ackroyd's spoof of her be shown....

I loved it when Ackroyd warbled, "And remember, save the livers!"

jazzy mary · August-13th-2004, 02:13 PM

Yes, I really loved how reasonable and real she was. She really was a true grande dame. It's wonderful she lived such a long and productive life!

Darryl G. Thomas · August-13th-2004, 02:42 PM

Monte's right. Think about all the TV shows, celebrity chefs the whole lifestyle media that's come along since Julia's time on TV. Truly amazing and a truly amazing person. RIP.

A lot of cultural icons passing away these days.

moneyp · August-13th-2004, 02:44 PM

My random Julia Child anecodote:

One year, my college roommate (the drug dealer) and I accompanied his mom, a retired chef who was working for Kraft foods, to a food convention (free food, okay?). Julia Child was in attendance and my roommate's mom was apparently an acquaintance of hers. So she goes over to talk with her a while, comes back, and says to us in a perfect Julia warble, "Jooooliiiiaaa is realllly starting to looooooose it!"

Ron Thorne · August-13th-2004, 03:16 PM

As with Larry and many others, I also really loved Julia Child, and found her fascinating. She was not only totally unpretentious, practical and talented, she was a great educator ... and funny. What a remarkable, irreplaceable lady.

RIP, Julia Child~

Dr Dave · August-13th-2004, 03:28 PM

My wife, Lucy, has a signed letter from Julia, which she keeps next to her Cordon Bleu diploma: her two most treasured keepsakes.

"Bon Appetit!"

Gentle Giant · August-13th-2004, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Larry Nagel

people sure like to make it hard.

Larry

Always glad to take Larry out of context, even if it means paying a royalty,

GG

bostontricky · August-13th-2004, 04:25 PM

If I can live my days with a tenth of the joie de vivre that Julia Child possessed, I'll consider it a smashing success. We will miss her.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jimmy Cantiello

I loved it when Ackroyd warbled, "And remember, save the livers!"

clinthopson · August-13th-2004, 05:10 PM

I worshiped that great lady. She brought a joy to the kitchen that was unsurpassed.

She taught me how to cook, really. I bought Vol I of Mastering the Art of French Cooking and worked my way through virtually every recipe in it. The I tackled Vol. 2.

I have said that if I were stranded on that desert island I would want three women with me - Donna (naturally), Julia and Carmen McRae. Now I only have Donna.

Julia, you will live forever in my heart.

Valerie · August-13th-2004, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clinthopson

I worshiped that great lady. She brought a joy to the kitchen that was unsurpassed.

She taught me how to cook, really. I bought Vol I of Mastering the Art of French Cooking and worked my way through virtually every recipe in it. The I tackled Vol. 2.

I have said that if I were stranded on that desert island I would want three women with me - Donna (naturally), Julia and Carmen McRae. Now I only have Donna.

Julia, you will live forever in my heart.

clint, i'm crackin' up!! i know many folks whose worst nightmare would be to be stranded on that desert island with carmen mcrae!! i'm sure you meant on cd though!!

best to you and donna.

valerie

hornplayer · August-13th-2004, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jimmy Cantiello

I loved it when Ackroyd warbled, "And remember, save the livers!"

... and so did Julia, Jimmy!

I'm going to print this thread on Monday and send ot to Stephanie Hersh, her Assistant (and friend) for the past 15 years, at least... I think there are quite a few of her intimates who would appreciate all your comments...

Monte Smith · August-13th-2004, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Root Doctor

NEW YORK (Reuters) -
During World War II, Child served with the Office of
Strategic Services in Washington D.C., Sri Lanka and China.

It's the third paragraph in her obit and not much commented on: the cook was a spy! Or if not a spy, she worked with spies in the WWII agency which was the forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency. And yet it says something about the woman that this sort of espionage excitement is a footnote to her career.

The first job in publishing I had was working with an editor of cookbooks, a great editor, actually. And so as a prole in these offices, I received pretty much instead of pay the rare invite to a celebrity chef's restaurant or a VIP dinner at some swishy NYC bistro. Or I got to chundle new releases to catered book parties swamped with gliterati. Food and books, it was, food and books. Not one of the people I ever met in the course of those two fattening years would speak of Julia Child without sincere genuflection.

Jimmy Cantiello · August-13th-2004, 07:06 PM

I'm sure that Jacques Pepin is heart broken over his good friend's passing. Pepin has lived in Madison, Connecticut for years. I can only imagine the meals that were served at his home on Long Island Sound just up the road a piece..............

GoodSpeak · August-13th-2004, 09:27 PM

Sorry to see her go.

May God Bless.

RIP Julia.

Ron Thorne · August-13th-2004, 10:24 PM

I don't know how I managed to overlook one of the most endearing qualities about Julia Child ... she made cooking fun! Not only did she demystify French cooking as others have mentioned, but she obviously truly enjoyed working in her "laboratory" and wanted others to enjoy it as well. And, it goes without saying that as well as being a masterful cook, she was quite an effective entertainer.

She would have celebrated her 92nd birthday this Sunday. Another American icon gone. We'll miss you, dear lady.

"Small helpings. No seconds. No snacking. A little bit of everything, and have a good time." - Julia Child

BFrank · August-14th-2004, 01:41 AM

I'm actually headed to Santa Barbara tomorrow. I'm sure there will be lots of press about her down there.

She made a nice life for herself. RIP.