Profile: Julia Child
Every other month, I like to share one of the great second Second Rodeo stories that has inspired me personally. I hope it will do the same for you. This week, I want to reflect on the legacy of television icon, Julia Child.
You may know she's considered the original celebrity chef, one of the first people to host her own televised cooking program. (If you’re of a certain age, you probably remember Dan Aykroyd’s hilarious impersonation of Child on SNL more than the woman herself!)
Born to a wealthy family, young Julia never had to cook; her family employed a personal chef. She received a degree at the exclusive Smith College, but it wasn’t until several years later, during World War II that she began her first real career. Working as a research assistant for the director of the OSS, a precursor to the CIA, she lived and worked in places like China and Sri Lanka. That’s where she met her husband, Paul Child, who became a career diplomat with the State Department following the war.
In today’s language, Paul was a “foodie,” and it was while living in Paris that he introduced Child to the world of fine dining. Captivated, she became one of the first women accepted into the prestigious Cordon Bleu cooking school. After Cordon Bleu she studied with several famous chefs, using her developing skills to host magnificent dinner parties for Paul and his diplomatic relationships.
One of her friends, Simone Beck, wanted to write a cookbook for Americans, and brought Child on board to help with language and make it more appealing. They were joined by a third friend, Louisette Betholle, and began teaching French cooking to American expatriates in Child’s tiny apartment kitchen.
For over a decade, these women tested and refined recipes, tried to streamline complicated processes, and generally make fine food accessible to the average American cook. One early publisher rejected their query because “it’s an encyclopedia, not a cookbook.”
Finally, in 1961, ten years after they launched the project, Alfred A. Knopf agreed to publish Mastering the Art of French Cooking. In the introduction Child wrote, “This is a book for the servantless American cook who can be unconcerned on occasion with budgets, waistlines, time schedules, children’s meals, the parent-chauffeur-den mother syndrome or anything else which might interfere with the enjoyment of producing something wonderful to eat.” To this day, the book is considered a classic, and it’s been updated numerous times.
Julia Child was already 49 when the book was published, but her legacy career was just getting started. Upon moving back to the Boston area, her first on-air appearance was making an omelet on the local public television channel. Her wit, lack of pretension and warbly voice made her an instant hit. She went on to host multiple cooking shows, most on Public Television. She won an Emmy, a Peabody, a National Book Award, the French Legion of Honor, numerous honorary doctorates, and became the first woman inducted into the Culinary Institute Hall of Fame. In 2003 President George W. Bush awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom. I’ve stood in her famous kitchen which is now preserved for all of us at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
All this recognition came as a result of following her passion while ignoring all the critics who doubted her.
Child was on air continuously for almost forty years, with many of her programs enduring to this day through syndication. She continued writing and making public appearances well into her 80s. Remember, this was a woman whose career didn’t begin until she was almost fifty. "In this line of work,” Child said, “you keep right on till you're through," she said. "Retired people are boring."
She had no intention of slowing down, even in her final days. Child died just two days before her 92nd birthday. Her last meal was a bowl of French onion soup prepared by her assistant, who reportedly got a few tips on how it could have been improved. Her estate funded a foundation, supporting those advancing gastronomy, the culinary arts, and further development in the world of professional food.
Julia Child’s story reminds me that regardless of my current age, I have much, much more to give. We are only limited by our own attitudes. I’ll close with a few of her more memorable quotes to sustain you on the journey toward your own Second Rodeo!
“The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude…. Always remember: If you're alone in the kitchen and you drop the lamb, you can always just pick it up. Who's going to know?”
“I don’t think about whether people will remember me or not. I’ve been an okay person. I’ve learned a lot. I’ve taught people a thing or two. That’s what’s important.”
"Find something you're passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it."
Thank you, Julia Child, for your inspiring example!
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