And a very TALL Child shall lead us

 

Several interesting facts about Julia Child:

• Her book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, introduced the idea of truly fine cuisine to American kitchens.
• The French Chef nabbed her first Emmy in 1966; in 2001, Julia & Jacques Cooking at Home nabbed her last.
• Her kitchen is one of the Smithsonian Museum's most popular permanent exhibits.
• Check your local PBS station - it should have a site dedicated to all things Julia.

Perhaps - for me - the most interesting fact is that her revolutionary cook book was published when Julia was 49 years old.  Today, that wouldn't be anything close to remarkable, but in 1961?  In 1961, 49 was considered only slightly less than ancient.  

Mrs. Paul Cushing Child (nee Julia McWilliams, of Pasadena, CA) started working on her epic cookbook at age 39 - again, no spring chicken.  But she had energy, a zest for living, an ideal life partner & an insatiable love of French cooking.  

Plus, the stars were alligned for her success.

If the cookbook had been accepted by Houghton Mifflin (which rejected it do to length & complexity), the odds are very good that Julia's life story would have had a very different ending.  In 1958, there was little interest in the USA for true French cooking - french fries, yes;  pommes frites, no.  

Ah, but it was rejected.  Praise be!  Because the manuscript ended up in the hands of Judith Jones, an editor at Alfred A. Knopf.  After trying out the recipe for boeuf bourguignon, she strongly advised taking a chance on the massive cookbook.  

Clearly, the Universe was a big fan of Julia, because 1961 was the BEST possible year for the cookbook to debut.

America was wild about its young president & his First Lady - Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy.  We followed her every move, were thoroughly versed in her decidedly French tastes.  The newspapers covered her selection of a French designer to restore the run-down White House & her hiring of a French chef to run the White House kitchen.  

Up until January 1961, the White House was hardly known for the excellence of its cuisine.  The kitchen was usually manned by either caterers or Navy stewards.  Yes, they managed 5- & 6-course meals, but the food was more notable for quantity than quality.  Much like the typical American kitchen of the day.

But then came Jackie, who introduced a style of dining that focused on elegant simplicity - three courses only, but featuring unforgettable dishes beautifully presented.    

Jackie lit the spark of a culinary revolution & Julia Child was there to fan the flames.  Sublime timing! 

Ah, but a cheerleading Universe wasn't through.  Had Julia's book been published earlier, Paul would still have been attached to the US Foreign Service, probably stationed in Europe.  But he'd planned to retire in 1961 & move to their first permanent home - in Cambridge, Mass.  Wow!  Just in time to help her promote the book!  

Ah, the Universe had much more interesting things in mind than book tour promotions.

The cookbook was warmly received (including being named a Book-of-the-Month Club Selection) by American housewives hungry to bring classic French cooking into their suburban homes.  

As part of the book's promotion, Paul set up an interview with a local public broadcasting station's show, I've Been Reading.  At Paul's suggestion, Julia arrived with eggs, a whisk & a copper bowl - "to enliven the talk."  It was the birth of one of America's first - definitely one of its most revolutionary & popular - cooking shows.  Twenty-seven viewers wrote to the station asking for more.   

The French Chef debuted locally in 1962 & went national in 1963.  WGBH brought Julia to a national audience & she helped make it one of the most prolific & well-known of any PBS stations.  

And behind, it all - quietly & effectively - was the guiding hand of her beloved Paul.  

Pity the people who give themselves artificial time lines.  Time is an artifice - the sooner we ditch ideas of "too late" & "if only it had happened earlier," the happier we are.  Julia was an elderly 32 when she fell in love with Paul, a doddering 34 when they married (in Lumberville, practically right up the road from where I live!).  In preparation for being a diplomat's wife, she takes a cooking class;  the results are so disastrous, Paul says he's willing to put up with her awful cooking in order to get her as his wife.  Ya never know!

My John - who is to me as Paul was to Julia, a rock & spur & spark plug - once said of something, "It takes as long as it takes."  True from birth to the end of our days.  There is no such thing as "too late" - Julia Child was 89 when she won her final Emmy.  

As a mere kid of 63, I shall let a very TALL Julia Child lead inspire direct me.  She won't discover her love of French cooking until she's 36 - and DOES something about it, enrolling in a year-long course at Le Cordon Bleu, with 11 former GIs as her fellow fledgling chefs.  (An early sign that the Universe adores her - Julia's instructor/mentor, Max Bugnard, had worked with Auguste Escoffier.)  The two women with whom she starts a cooking school are writing a cookbook about French cooking for American housewives - they need someone to help them make it accessible to their audience.  Avis DeVoto – a devoted pen pal of Julia's (great back story) - is a former cookbook editor who still has great connections at Houghton Mifflin, got the book looked at by publishers when H-M turned it down.  At Knopf, the manuscript is given to a young editor who loves to cook.

We never know what turn of life's path will lead to something remarkable.  A gawky, too-tall older woman with a quirky way of cooking fabulous food can become an icon for the ages.  Let's all remember that, let's all keep on keeping on! 

Julia Child to her sister-in-law: “Really, the more I cook 

the more I like to cook. To think it has taken me 40 yrs. 

To find my true passion (cat and husb. excepted).”