Issue Nº 16: The Julia Child Issue

T H AT TA K ES YO U T H E R E

MADE WITH MILK FROM GRASS-FED COWS T H AT G R A Z E O N T H E LUS H PA ST U RES O F I RE L A N D. 1

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EDITOR'S LETTER:

ENCHANTÉ Somehow, my family managed to evade the charms of Julia Child. My mother didn’t own Mastering the Art of French Cooking, nor did her mom, and I didn’t watch Julia on PBS, although I did grow up on the public television classics Sesame Street and The Electric Company. It wasn’t until the film Julie & Julia, thanks to Meryl Streep’s brilliant portrayal of Julia, that I paid the icon much mind.

I called my mom and asked how we had led this Julia-free existence for so long. “We don’t come from culinary people,” she reminded me, once she stopped laughing. “You come from the kind of people who put ketchup on spaghetti.” Aah, true.

My grandmother, step-grandmother, and great-grandmother cooked, but I mostly remember dried-out chicken, very tough pot roast, and canned peas. My mom didn’t cook a lot—it was the era of convenience food and she had five fussy children— but when I think back to the things she did make from scratch when I was younger, it’s clear Julia and her French influence had crept in somehow. How else to explain the Crockpot boeuf bourguignon (from which I picked out every tiny mushroom morsel), the cream puffs topped with melted chocolate chips (profiteroles, but we didn’t call them that), and quiche (how I hated those tiny pieces of onion)! And then there was our shared love of French onion soup, which we ordered without fail on our rare restaurant visits. Somehow those onions didn’t bother me.

Julia cast such a wide net, we didn’t even know we were under it. Working on this special issue has brought me fully up to speed on all things Julia, and helped me understand her influence and her appeal, across continents, generations, and time. When we put out a call for submissions for this issue, I was taken aback at the depth of affection so many of you have for her, and the number of lives she’s changed. Like that of Jaíne Mackievicz, an amazing young chef from the Amazon. After losing her beloved father, Jaíne packed her bags and set out on an adventure inspired by her hero Julia.

Don’t miss Jaíne’s essay in the pages ahead, and so many beautiful stories like hers.

Julia's brilliance impacted so many. We should note that she benefited from what we acknowledge today as white privilege, and while progressive on many issues, she was less so on others. But this fierce feminist—and she was one, despite not embracing the word—changed the food world.

We now have the opportunity to learn from her willingness to make mistakes and embrace her lessons on courage, creativity, and passion.

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TOP TO BOTTOM: BISOU BISOU FROM KERRY. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LIVINGSTON.

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MY NEW OBSESSION, WAFFLES + MOCHI. DID YOU CATCH THEIR JULIA CHILD SCENE? WRITER + CHEF JAÍNE MACKIEVICZ, CELEBRATING HER BIRTHDAY JULIA STYLE COOKIE ACTIVIST JASMINE M. CHO VISITS WITH JULIA AT THE SMITHSONIAN

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This is a pair of shoes.

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To verify social and environmental practices and working conditions, Whole Foods Market works with internationally recognized third parties, including Fair Trade USA, Rainforest Alliance, Fair Trade America, Fair Food Program, and the Equitable Food Initiative.

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16

The Julia Child Issue

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56 JULIA & THE REINDEER SALAMI What a chance encounter in Oslo revealed about the author's grandmother 62 CRÊPE EXPECTATIONS An easy and elegant dish inspired by one of the feistiest females ever

18 JULIA’S PARIS An illustrated map of some of Julia’s favorite Parisian spots

64 JULIA CHILD WAS MY BOSS And other stories

20 JULIA CHILD THROUGH THE YEARS The icon’s life and legacy, from California girl to culinary hero

68 HOW THE FRENCH CHEF GOT THE GREEN LIGHT Russ Morash, a producer on Julia’s first show, recalls early days on set

28 AN ABSOLUTELY PERFECT LUNCH In this excerpt from My Life In France, we learn about the meal that changed everything for Julia

70 A LIFE WELL SEASONED Memories of a glamorous grandmother who prized family, great food, and special gatherings

32 SOUFFLÉ AU CHOCOLAT An illustrated version of the classic recipe 36 JULIA IN THE AMAZON How the culinary icon captured the imagination of a young girl in Northern Brazil 44 JULIA’S WORDS OF WISDOM Illustrated quotes from Julia’s TV shows and interviews 46 THAT TIME WE MET How a gift of homemade English muffins connected a cottage-industry baker with her hero

82 LIGHTS, CAMERA… JULIA! The Making of Nora Ephron’s Julie & Julia 88 CLASSIC JULIA Beloved recipes from Mastering the Art of French Cooking

74 JULIA’S LESSER KNOWN LEGACY The connection between Julia’s support of Planned Parenthood and the political bake sales of today 76 FOOD TANK’S DANIELLE NIERENBERG 2020 Julia Child Award recipient 78 WWJD: WHAT WOULD JULIA DRINK? A somm star shares her suggestions

SPECIAL THANKS

Cherry Bombe would like to thank The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts and the Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University, for their partnership

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122 EDNA LEWIS IS NOT THE JULIA CHILD OF THE SOUTH A look at what made the Grande Dame of the South so unique 124 PEOPLE WHO LOVE TO EAT ARE ALWAYS THE BEST PEOPLE Women of color on the complicated and enduring appeal of Julia Child 128 MY JULIA SECRET Vivian Howard shares her truth about the French Chef 130 AN AMERICAN TREASURE How the country’s most famous kitchen became part of the Smithsonian Institution 106 THE MARSEILLE WAY Discovering the robust roux of this seaside town through one of Julia’s favorite dishes, bouillabaisse

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136 CALIFORNIA DREAMING A look at how the culinary scene in the Santa Barbara region has evolved since Julia’s time there 138 MY JULIA ROAD TRIP Exploring the food scene in Julia’s beloved Santa Barbara and beyond

114 THE GUIDING LIGHT Remembering Judith Jones, the editor who ushered in the golden age of cookbooks

140 THE REVERSE MARTINI Julia’s favorite cocktail is the perfect drink for now

118 SMART COOKIE Artist and activist Jasmine M. Cho celebrates changemakers big and small

142 GO, FISH! Julia’s favorite easy hors d’oeuvres, Goldfish crackers

COVER PHOTO AND JULIA PHOTOS THROUGHOUT: COURTESY OF SCHLESINGER LIBRARY, RADCLIFFE INSTITUTE, HARVARD UNIVERSITY; MERYL STREEP: COURTESY OF COLUMBIA PICTURES. JULIE & JULIA © 2009 COLUMBIA PICTURES INDUSTRIES, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: JULIA COOKIE: JASMINE M. CHO; LAVENDER FIELD: COURTESY OF LAUREN PAIGE RICHESON; EDNA PHOTO BY JOHN T. HILL FOR HOUSE AND GARDEN © CONDÉ NAST 5

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Dinner with Julia.

What would you serve?

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A French onion soup tart, a play on one of her favorite recipes that includes plenty of butter and cheese, two of her favorite ingredients.

Alana Al-Hatlani, baker by morning, food writer by night.

In a long-distance relationship with New York City. Seattle

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Chicken waterzooi for dinner and tarte tatin for dessert paired with a great chardonnay.

Abena Anim-Somuah, lowkey bibliophile and highkey home baker. Food obsessed. Toronto

A French omelette with parsley, because as Julia says, omelettes are nice, exciting, and elegant. And hopefully she would join me in the kitchen to demonstrate her technique!

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Michelle Bâby, whose last name is pronounced Bobby, handles sponsorships and brand partnerships for Cherry Bombe. When she’s not working, she loves to cook and has been part of a monthly cooking club for five years! Chicago

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A: A simple roast

chicken with lemon and ginger. I think Julia would approve!

Catherine Baker, avid cook, writer, and eater who recently joined the Cherry Bombe team. Atlanta

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Maybe it’s what I am craving at the moment, but I’d love to chat with Julia over steaming bowls of homemade matzo ball soup. Topped with fresh dill, of course.

Carly Blumenthal, illustrator and storyteller who often has a sketchbook in one hand and a cookbook in the other. Brooklyn

Galbijjim, a traditional Korean dish of melt-in-yourmouth braised short ribs, with a side of steamed white rice and paired with a red or white wine of her choice.

Jasmine M. Cho, artist, author, and cookie activist most known for using icing to elevate representation. Pittsburgh

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A:

I'd definitely make her Guyanese chicken chow mein—one of my favorites, packed with great Caribbean and East Asian flavors.

Chayil Hyland, Cherry Bombe intern, a senior at Food and Finance High School, and an avid green tea drinker! Queens

A: I wouldn’t dare cook.

Instead, I’d serve snap peas and strawberries from my garden, the best cheese money can buy, and we’d sit outside and drink and rant about politics.

Sara B. Franklin, writer, professor, and twin mama.

Kingston, New York

A: I'd probably make a monumental mess!

Vivian Howard wears a lot of hats, most of them lopsided yet resolutely tilted toward food-centric storytelling.

Deep Run, North Carolina

A:

We’d invite Julia to Switzerland, where we live, for a fondue dinner. We'd happily dunk bread and fresh pears into melted mountain cheeses, laced with raw garlic and white wine!

Ashley Schütz and Ashly Jernigan, two American Ashl(e)ys, who destiny and Instagram brought together in the faraway land of Switzerland. Zürich

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My revisited take on Julia's boeuf bourguignon.

My French husband still says, “It's good, but it's not boeuf bourguignon.” I'd like to hear what Julia has to say about that.

Jessie Kanelos Weiner, watercolor illustrator, co-author of the In Stride guidebooks and author of Edible Paradise and the forthcoming The New Victory Garden Calendar.

Followed Julia's footsteps to Paris and never left.

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I’d lean into our mutual love for butter, and serve glasses of my miso-butter-washed whiskey and my brownbutter-washed bourbon, accompanied by radishes dipped in salted butter.

Leslie Kirchhoff, Disco Cubes founder, ice cube innovator, cocktail consultant, photographer, D.J., and artist. Los Angeles

A: Champagne and caviar-topped

potatoes followed by ossobuco milanese with saffron rice and a rustic red wine. For dessert, I’d serve my grandmother’s chocolate rolls, reserved for life’s most special occasions!

Sallie Lewis, writer with work published everywhere from WSJ The Wall Street Journal Magazine to Garden & Gun. San Antonio, Texas

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MOMENTS

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French 75 or the Adonis.

She seems to appreciate a good wine-based cocktail, like me!

Chacine “Cha” McCoy, your average well-travelled, wine-hearted, heavyspirited kind of girl and Cherry Bombe Beverage Director. Harlem

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Banana leaf-grilled fish with silky coconut sauce and creamed yuca with garlic-chili butter. For dessert, caramelized plantain upside-down cake served warm, with drippings of crème anglaise on each slice.

Jaíne Mackievicz, from the Amazon, the actual one. Perpetually cooking, reading, and vice-versa.

Unpretentiously eating and writing about it. Hopeless cake lover.

Worcester, Massachusetts

A: I made croissants using Julia Child’s recipe, from Mastering the Art of French Cooking Volume 2, to mark the day that I appeared for the last time in family court, officially ending my marriage. I would make the same for her.

Pooja Makhijani, writer, editor, and baker. New Jersey

A: I wouldn't! I'd bring Julia her

local take-out favorites: Goldfish Crackers and a reverse martini, La Super-Rica Taqueria tacos and tamales, and McConnell's Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. We'd talk food galore!

Mara Papatheodorou, a former Bon Appétit editor who carries her culinary compass in one hand and passport in the other as a tastes & traditions expert. Los Angeles

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Dinner for Julia sounds kinda intimidating, so I'd have her over for an afternoon hang—serve warm peach crisp with vanilla ice cream and we'd drink iced coffee!

Stacy Michelson, illustrator and food journalist. Always looking for the story behind the food. Author of Eat This Book.

Los Angeles

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I live in a food paradise, so I'd shop day-of for fresh produce, cheeses, and wine, served alongside tea leaf salad from Burma Superstar.

For dessert: my husband’s legendary brownies.

Janet Ozzard loves reading other people's words and eating other people's cooking. Berkeley

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Dumplings, nachos, or waffles!

Nancy Pappas, illustrator, designer, and Cherry Bombe Art Director. Brooklyn & Seoul

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A tale of Two Creeks.

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A: I would cook up some

homemade ramen! For dessert, Girl Scout Thin Mints made from scratch, which I have recently mastered!

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Cheese board!

I’d crumble under the pressure of trying to cook for a legend, so I’d need something I could prepare well in advance.

Something simple and timeless, like a roasted chicken and maybe a side of her favorite French onion soup.

Grace Reynoso, Cherry Bombe intern and a junior communications major who loves all things beauty, fashion, self-love, and music!

Ridgewood, New Jersey

Lauren Paige Richeson, author, recipe developer, food writer, and digital storyteller specializing in written, visual, and edible content.

Marseille

Audrey Payne, handles marketing and writes about cookbooks at Cherry Bombe.

Brooklyn

A: I would make Julia banana pudding.

Hasanah Sabree, Cherry Bombe intern, aspiring chef, and a senior at Food and Finance High School.

Fashion-lover with a YouTube channel called Haswaa. Bronx

A: It has to be Ina's Italian

wedding soup, country bread from the Tartine bread book, green salad, and a fresh berry crostata. And those English muffins with cherry-berry jam as a parting gift.

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I'd make something quintessentially French, but not too complicated… like a pear galette!

Seton Rossini, graphic designer, baker, mom of two boys, butter enthusiast, and author of the cookbook Sweet Envy.

Annapolis, Maryland

Diane Rocha is a retired English teacher who cooks, bakes, and writes in San Marcos, California, where she makes her home with her dog Charley.

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My world-renowned magic potatoes. Julia's recipes are known to be very complex, hopefully my simple potatoes are a nice change of pace!

Jenna Sadhu, Radio Cherry Bombe intern.

Loves sunlight on her skin and gnocchi in her stomach. Palo Alto, California 2020

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2020

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CAMBOZOLA BLACK LABEL CAMBOZOLA BLACK LABEL A CHEESE LIKE NO OTHER A CHEESE LIKE NO OTHER

2020 BEST IN CLASS – WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP CHEESE CONTEST 2020 BEST IN CLASS – WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP CHEESE CONTEST

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THISISFINECHEESE.COM THISISFINECHEESE.COM

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EDITOR & CO-FOUNDER

Kerry Diamond ART DIRECTOR

Nancy Pappas

A: Roast chicken with

potatoes rendered in fat; a green salad with candied pecans, fromage blanc, pomegranate seeds, and a lemon vinaigrette; and angel food cake for dessert.

Remy P. Tumin, grew up cooking in her mom’s New York City apartment. She is a reporter at The New York Times. Brooklyn

EVENTS & MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR

Donna Yen

A: I'd make Julia an Asian dish that's bursting with flavors such as pad thai or my sister Diana Yen's Thai coconut chicken.

Debbie Yen, photo assistant, podcaster, and professional napper. Fountain Valley, California

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Audrey Payne

BEVERAGE DIRECTOR

Cha McCoy

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT

Catherine Baker

DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Michelle Bâby ISSUE DESIGN

Seton Rossini CO-FOUNDER

Claudia Wu INTERNS

Chayil Hyland Grace Reynoso Hasanah Sabree Jenna Sadhu

A: I’d love to make

Asian comfort food, like my mom’s classic wonton dumplings, for Julia. I think she’d appreciate the elegance and simplicity of them!

Diana Yen, photographer and food stylist. Also the mom of Cleo the Bunny.

Ojai, California

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I'd make a spicy Sichuan hot pot for Julia.

I'd get all the best seafood from Santa Barbara Shellfish Company (one of her favorite seafood destinations). I hear she's an adventurous eater so I think she'd have fun and enjoy every bite.

Copyright 2021 Cherry Bombe. All rights reserved. No parts of this magazine may be reproduced in any form for any purpose without written permission from the publisher. info@cherrybombe.com

Donna Yen, Events and Membership Director at Cherry Bombe. Orange County

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T H E N EW YO R K T I M E S B E ST S E L L E R

NOW AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK

“Poignant and hilarious . . .

Simply delicious.”

—T he New York Ti me s Book Revi ew

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Paul Child © The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts

A CHARMING COLLECTION OF BON MOTS from the woman who taught America how to cook and how to eat!

“The more you know, the more you can create.

There’s no end to imagination in the kitchen.”

“IF YOU’RE AFRAID OF BUTTER, USE CREAM.”

“Learn how to cook—try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all have fun!”

“I THINK EVERY WOMAN SHOULD HAVE A BLOWTORCH.”

THE PERFECT GIFT FOR THE FOODIE IN YOUR LIFE. 16

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Alfred A. Knopf

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Paul Child © The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts

Dear Bombesquad, A hearty welcome to Cherry Bombe’s Julia Child Issue from Julia’s very own foundation.

While Julia created a foundation before she died to carry on the work that mattered most to her during her lifetime, she would no doubt be surprised by the depth of her continued resonance today. She would be proud her foundation plays its part to foster the food revolution she helped start, whether through our grants to food world non-profits; the annual Julia Child Award, which shines a spotlight on those following in Julia’s footsteps; or the Inside Julia’s Kitchen podcast, which continues Julia’s tradition of featuring the talents of those we have the good fortune of learning from all the time.

The opportunity to partner with Cherry Bombe on this special issue was irresistible.

It’s hard to imagine a better ambassador for Julia’s legacy than a publication dedicated to celebrating women creators in the food and beverage world striving to make it a more delicious place. Julia was fearless, a pioneer, a visionary, a mentor, teacher, writer, and bon vivant. She was inspirational, sincere, funny, vibrant, and always hungry to learn what could make food, drinking, cooking, and even life itself better. The same description applies to those Cherry Bombe showcases as well as to its readers, listeners, and followers.

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We hope that as you enjoy the wide variety of voices in this commemorative issue, Julia’s legacy inspires you to live well through the joys of cooking, eating, and drinking and that you share this inspiration with your family and friends.

We thank Cherry Bombe for honoring and deepening what mattered to Julia, and for its support of the Foundation’s work and mission.

As Julia said, “Toujours, bon appétit.”

Todd Schulkin Executive Director

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juliachildfoundation.org

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illustration by Jessie Kanelos Weiner

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JULIA CHILD THROUGH the YEARS THE ICON’S LIFE AND LEGACY, FROM CALIFORNIA GIRL TO CULINARY HERO TO THE SUBJECT OF A FILM, A DOCUMENTARY, AND AN UPCOMING HBO MAX SERIES

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SIMPLE, ELEGANT DISHES you will make again and again.

Spend more time savoring and less time stressing with Open Kitchen.

From Susan Spungen, founding food editor of Martha Stewart Living and renowned food stylist of Julie and Julia, It’s Complicated, and Eat, Pray, Love.

“Susan Spungen’s magnificent book celebrates freshness and takes familiar flavors in unexpected—and delicious—directions. It’s a must for anyone who loves to cook, bake . . . and of course, eat.”

—DAVID LEBOVITZ, author of My Paris Kitchen and Drinking French

Available now from Avery, wherever books are sold Learn more at prh.com/openkitchen

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@Avery_books @Susan Spungen #OpenKitchen

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1912

A (Culinary) Star is Born

1934

Congratulations, Grads

1935

Big City, Big Dreams

1942

1944

Julia graduates with a degree in history from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts

Julia moves to New York with the goal of becoming a famous novelist and lands a job as a copywriter. She stays in New York until 1937, then moves back to California to care for her mother.

Child, Julia Child

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A Romance For The Ages

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Julia is hired as a typist for the Office of Strategic Services. Her time at the OSS, where she had top security clearances, will later spark rumors that she worked as a spy during World War II.

Julia meets Paul Child while posted in what is now Sri Lanka.

They eventually marry on September 1st, 1946, in Lumberville, Pennsylvania. Paul, Julia, and Valentine’s Day cards are never the same again.

1948

Bonjour, Paris

1949

Back To School

1952

1961

Julia and Paul move to Paris for Paul’s job with the United States Information Service at the American embassy

Julia enrolls at Le Cordon Bleu culinary school and graduates in 1951 with a Diplôme de Cuisine

Three is the Magic Number

Julia meets Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck. The three start L’École des Trois Gourmandes, a modest cooking school.

Louisette and Simone enlist Julia’s help on a cookbook project.

Homecoming

Julia and Paul move back to Cambridge, Massachusetts.

They buy a house and Paul redesigns the kitchen, complete with pegboard and magnetic knife strips.

The Book That Changed Everything 1961

M M C K

On August 15th, Julia Carolyn McWilliams is the first of three children born to land manager John McWilliams and Weston Paper Company heiress Julia Carolyn Weston in Pasadena, California

JULIA IMAGES THROUGHOUT COURTESY OF SCHLESINGER LIBRARY, RADCLIFFE INSTITUTE, HARVARD UNIVERSITY

After almost a decade of research, recipe testing, rewrites, and rejection, Mastering the Art of French Cooking is released in the United States. Mastering (collectively) has now sold more than 3 million copies.

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MY MEXICO CITY KITCHEN GABRIELA CÁMARA 150 recipes for vibrant, simple, and sophisticated contemporary Mexican cooking

“Gabriela Cámara is a beautifully intuitive cook and keen observer of flavor.”

—ALICE WATERS

Available wherever books are sold

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1962

1964

1966

Bon Appétit!

Julia’s first show, The French Chef, debuts on Boston’s public television station WGBH and goes national a year later

An Honor

Julia wins a Peabody Award for The French Chef

Top Chef

Julia wins the Emmy for Achievement in Educational Television for her work on The French Chef

1970

The Sequel

1978

Live From New York

1980

Mastering the Art of French Cooking Volume Two is released

Dan Aykroyd’s Julia Child skit airs on Saturday Night Live

Good Morning, Julia

Julia becomes a regular contributor to Good Morning America, and remains with the program for 20 years

1991

Edible Education

1994

A Great Loss

Julia works with Jacques Pépin and Boston University to launch a Masters of Liberal Arts Degree in Gastronomy

Paul Child dies aged 92 in Lexington, Massachusetts

A Solid Foundation 1995

The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts is created to continue Julia’s legacy by educating and encouraging others to live well through the joys of cooking, eating, and drinking

2000

Oui, Chef

2001

America’s Most Famous Kitchen

2002

524 Recipes

Julia is awarded L’Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur, France’s highest order of merit

Julia donates the kitchen from her home in Cambridge to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

Julie Powell launches her blog, The Julie/Julia Project, to document her attempt to cook through Mastering the Art of French Cooking in 365 days

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Celebrate the exciting and delicious possibilities of modern Asian cooking Over 10 mout 0 h water in recip g es

Hardcover $35.00 Inspired by bestseller Hetty McKinnon’s childhood as a Chinese girl born in Australia, this sumptuous collection of vegetarian (and often vegan) recipes is Asian home cooking unlike anything you’ve ever seen before.

www.prestel.com Prestel books are available through all good bookstores

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2004

2006

For Her Service

Julia is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George W. Bush

A Life Well Lived

On August 13th, two days shy of her 92nd birthday, Julia dies of kidney failure in Montecito, California

In Her Own Words

My Life In France, Julia’s memoir, which she co-authored with her grandnephew Alex Prud'homme, is released

2009

Silver Screen

2012

100 Years On

2014

Julia’s story comes alive in Nora Ephron’s final film, Julie & Julia, starring Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci, and Amy Adams. Meryl receives an Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of Julia.

COURTESY OF COLUMBIA PICTURES, JULIE & JULIA © 2009 COLUMBIA PICTURES INDUSTRIES, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

2003

Friends, family, and adoring fans celebrate Julia’s 100th birthday

As Always, Julia

Julia is featured on a U.S. Postal Service stamp as part of a collection celebrating famous chefs, including James Beard and Edna Lewis

2019

Doc Star

2021

To the Max

Julie Cohen and Betsy West, makers of the RBG documentary, announce that Julia will be the subject of their next film

HBO Max greenlights a TV series about Julia starring British actor Sarah Lancashire and slated for release in late 2021

Books

TV Shows & Specials

1961 1968 1970 1975 1978 1979 1989 1991 1993 1995 1998 1998 1999 1999 1999 2000 2006

1963 to 1973 1978 to 1979 1979 to 1980 1983 to 1984 1993

Mastering the Art of French Cooking The French Chef Cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking Volume Two From Julia’s Kitchen Julia Child & Company Julia Child & More Company The Way To Cook Julia Child’s Menu Cookbook Cooking with Master Chefs In Julia’s Cookbook Julia’s Delicious Little Dinners Julia’s Menu For Special Occasions Julia’s Breakfasts, Lunches and Suppers Julia’s Casual Dinners Julia and Jacques Cooking At Home Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom My Life In France

1993 to 1994 1994 to 1996 1995 1996 to 1998 1999 to 2000 2000

The French Chef Julia Child & Company Julia Child & More Company Dinner at Julia’s Julia Child & Jacques Pépin: Cooking in Concert Cooking with Master Chefs In Julia’s Kitchen with Master Chefs Julia Child & Jacques Pépin: More Cooking in Concert Baking with Julia Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom

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COURTESY OF COLUMBIA PICTURES, JULIE & JULIA © 2009 COLUMBIA PICTURES INDUSTRIES, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

AN ABSOLUTELY PERFECT LUNCH IN THIS EXCERPT FROM THE MEMOIR MY LIFE IN FRANCE, WE LEARN ABOUT THE MEAL THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING FOR JULIA

by Julia Child and Alex Prud'homme

The Norman countryside struck me as quintessentially French, in an indefinable way. The real sights and sounds and smells of this place were so much more particular and interesting than a movie montage or a magazine spread about “France” could ever be. Each little town had a distinct character, though some of them, like Yvetot, were still scarred by gaping bomb holes and knots of barbed wire. We saw hardly any other cars, but there were hundreds of bicyclists, old men driving horses-andbuggies, ladies dressed in black, and little boys in wooden shoes. The telephone poles were of a different size and shape from those in America.

The fields were intensely cultivated. There were no billboards. And the occasional pink-and-white stucco villa set at the end of a formal allée of trees was both silly and charming. Quite unexpectedly, something about the earthy-smoky smells, the curve of the landscape, and the bright greenness of the cabbage fields reminded us both of China.

Oh, la belle France—without knowing it, I was already falling in love!

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I HUNG BACK, CONCERNED THAT I DIDN’T LOOK CHIC ENOUGH, THAT I WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE, AND THAT THE WAITERS WOULD LOOK DOWN THEIR LONG GALLIC NOSES AT US YANKEE TOURISTS. At twelve-thirty we flashed into Rouen. We passed the city’s ancient and beautiful clock tower, and then its famous cathedral, still pockmarked from battle but magnificent with its stainedglass windows. We rolled to a stop in la Place du Vieux Marché, the square where Joan of Arc had met her fiery fate. There the Guide Michelin directed us to Restaurant La Couronne (“The Crown”), which had been built in 1345 in a medieval quartertimbered house. Paul strode ahead, full of anticipation, but I hung back, concerned that I didn’t look chic enough, that I wouldn’t be able to communicate, and that the waiters would look down their long Gallic noses at us Yankee tourists.

In France, Paul explained, good cooking was regarded as a combination of national sport and high art, and wine was always served with lunch and dinner. “The trick is moderation,” he said.

Suddenly the dining room filled with wonderfully intermixing aromas that I sort of recognized but couldn’t name. The first smell was something oniony—“shallots,” Paul identified it, “being sautéed in fresh butter.” (“What’s a shallot?” I asked, sheepishly. “You’ll see,” he said.) Then came a warm and winy fragrance from the kitchen, which was probably a delicious sauce being reduced on the stove. This was followed by a whiff of something astringent: the salad being tossed in a big ceramic bowl with lemon, wine vinegar, olive oil, and a few shakes of salt and pepper.

It was warm inside, and the dining room was a comfortably old-fashioned brown-and-white space, neither humble nor luxurious. At the far end was an enormous fireplace with a rotary spit, on which something was cooking that sent out heavenly aromas. We were greeted by the maître d’hôtel, a slim middleaged man with dark hair who carried himself with an air of gentle seriousness. Paul spoke to him, and the maître d’ smiled and said something back in a familiar way, as if they were old friends. Then he led us to a nice table not far from the fireplace.

The other customers were all French, and I noticed that they were treated with exactly the same courtesy as we were. Nobody rolled their eyes at us or stuck their nose in the air. Actually, the staff seemed happy to see us.

My stomach gurgled with hunger.

I couldn’t help noticing that the waiters carried themselves with a quiet joy, as if their entire mission in life was to make their customers feel comfortable and well-tended. One of them glided up to my elbow. Glancing at the menu, Paul asked him questions in rapid-fire French. The waiter seemed to enjoy the back-and-forth with my husband. Oh, how I itched to be in on their conversation! Instead, I smiled and nodded uncomprehendingly, although I tried to absorb all that was going on around me.

As we sat down, I heard two businessmen in gray suits at the next table asking questions of their waiter, an older, dignified man who gesticulated with a menu and answered them at length.

We began our lunch with a half-dozen oysters on the half-shell.

I was used to bland oysters from Washington and Massachusetts, which I had never cared much for. But this platter of portugaises had a sensational briny flavor and a smooth texture that was entirely new and surprising. The oysters were served with rounds of pain de seigle, a pale rye bread, with a spread of unsalted butter. Paul explained that, as with wine, the French have “crus” of butter, special regions that produce individually flavored butters. Beurre de Charentes is a full-bodied butter, usually recommended for pastry dough or general cooking; beurre d’Isigny is a fine, light table butter. It was that delicious Isigny that we spread on our rounds of rye.

“What are they talking about?” I whispered to Paul.

“The waiter is telling them about the chicken they ordered,” he whispered back. “How it was raised, how it will be cooked, what side dishes they can have with it, and which wines would go with it best.”

“Wine?” I said. “At lunch?” I had never drunk much wine other than some $1.19 California Burgundy, and certainly not in the middle of the day.

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Rouen is famous for its duck dishes, but after consulting the waiter Paul had decided to order sole meunière. It arrived whole: a large, flat Dover sole that was perfectly browned in a sputtering butter sauce with a sprinkling of chopped parsley on top. The waiter carefully placed the platter in front of us, stepped back, and said: “Bon appétit!”

I closed my eyes and inhaled the rising perfume. Then I lifted a forkful of fish to my mouth, took a bite, and chewed slowly. The flesh of the sole was delicate, with a light but distinct taste of the ocean that blended marvelously with the browned butter. I chewed slowly and swallowed. It was a morsel of perfection.

In Pasadena, we used to have broiled mackerel for Friday dinners, codfish balls with egg sauce, “boiled” (poached) salmon on the Fourth of July, and the occasional pan-fried trout when camping in the Sierras. But at La Couronne I experienced fish, and a dining experience, of a higher order than any I’d ever had before.

Along with our meal, we happily downed a whole bottle of Pouilly-Fumé, a wonderfully crisp white wine from the Loire Valley. Another revelation!

OH, LA BELLE FRANCE— WITHOUT KNOWING IT, I WAS ALREADY FALLING IN LOVE!

Then came salade verte laced with a lightly acidic vinaigrette. And I tasted my first real baguette—a crisp brown crust giving way to a slightly chewy, rather loosely textured pale-yellow interior, with a faint reminder of wheat and yeast in the odor and taste. Yum! We followed our meal with a leisurely dessert of fromage blanc, and ended with a strong, dark café filtre. The waiter placed before us a cup topped with a metal canister, which contained coffee grounds and boiling water. With some urging by us impatient drinkers, the water eventually filtered down into the cup below. It was fun, and it provided a distinctive dark brew.

Paul paid the bill and chatted with the maître d’, telling him how much he looked forward to going back to Paris for the first time in eighteen years. The maître d’ smiled as he scribbled something on the back of a card. “Tiens,” he said, handing it to me. The Dorin family, who owned La Couronne, also owned a restaurant in Paris, called La Truite, he explained, while Paul translated. On the card he had scribbled a note of introduction for us.

“Mairci, monsoor,” I said, with a flash of courage and an accent that sounded bad even to my own ear. The waiter nodded as if it were nothing, and moved off to greet some new customers.

Paul and I floated out the door into the brilliant sunshine and cool air. Our first lunch together in France had been absolute perfection. It was the most exciting meal of my life.

Excerpted from My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prud'homme. Copyright © 2006 by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

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t he ne w yor k t imes bestselling a nd cr i t ic a lly accl a imed memoir from cult ur a l icon a nd culina r y s t a n da r d be a r er a l ice wa t er s

“Longing for a heart to heart with the woman who changed the way America eats? This is your chance. Alice has written a book so intimate that, although I’ve known her most of my life, I feel I’ve finally gotten to know her.”

—RUTH REICHL

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“Chocolate needs special treatment for soufflés because it is heavy. Although the formula in our first edition produced dramatic puff, it was far too fragile. In this new version, you fold the chocolate mixture into a meringue — that is, rather than adding the sugar to the sauce base, you whip it into the egg whites, thereby firming them up. Just this simple change in method gives the soufflé staying power so that instead of collapsing rather rapidly into a pudding, it stays up and retains its primal soufflé character.”

(Continue to the next page for recipe)

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SOUFFLÉ AU CHOCOLAT [Chocolate Soufflé] For 6 to 8 people Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

7 ounces or squares of semi-sweet or sweet baking chocolate 1/3 cup strong coffee A small saucepan with cover set in a larger pan of almost simmering water

Place the chocolate and coffee in the small pan, cover, and set in a larger pan of almost simmering water. Remove from heat and let the chocolate melt while you proceed with the recipe.

1/2 Tb softened butter A 2- to 2 1/2-quart soufflé dish or straight-sided baking dish 7 1/2 to 8 inches in diameter

Smear the inside of the dish with the softened butter. Surround with a collar of buttered aluminum foil (double thickness) to reach 3 inches above the rim of the dish. Set out all the rest of the ingredients called for.

1/3 cup all-purpose flour A 2-quart saucepan A wire whip 2 cups milk 3 Tb butter

Measure the flour into the saucepan. Start whisking in the milk by dribbles at first to make a perfectly smooth cream; rapidly whisk in the rest. Add the butter, and stir over moderate heat until boiling; boil, stirring, for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and beat 1 minute or so to cool slightly.

4 egg yolks 1 Tb pure vanilla extract

One by one, whisk the egg yolks into the hot sauce, then the smoothly melted chocolate, and finally the vanilla. (*) If you are not continuing within 5 to 10 minutes, lay a sheet of plastic wrap directly on top of the sauce to prevent a skin from forming.

6 egg whites (3/4 cup) 1/8 tsp salt 1/2 cup sugar

Beat the egg whites and salt in a separate bowl until soft peaks are formed. Then, by sprinkles, beat in the sugar and continue until stiff shining peaks are formed.

Scrape the chocolate mixture into the side of the egg white bowl; delicately fold them together. Turn the soufflé mixture into the prepared mold and set on a rack in the lower level of the preheated oven. Turn thermostat down to 375 degrees.

Powdered sugar in a sieve or shaker Serving suggestions: 2 cups of sweetened whipped cream, crème anglaise, or vanilla ice cream

In 35 to 40 minutes, when soufflé is well risen and the top has cracked, rapidly sprinkle the surface with powdered sugar; continue baking another 5 to 10 minutes. Soufflé is still creamy at the center when a skewer plunged down through the surface crack comes out slightly coated. It is fully done and will stand up well (if that is how you like it) when the skewer comes out clean. Serve at once with one of the suggestions listed. (*) When turned into its baking dish, the soufflé may be covered loosely with a sheet of foil and set in a draft-free part of the kitchen for an hour or more before being baked.

Excerpted from MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING: Volume One Fortieth Anniversary Edition by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck.

Copyright © 1961, 1983, 2001 by Alfred A. Knopf. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

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A New York Times BESTSELLER! “No matter how complex the technique, when she tells us how to do it, we get excited about it, we do it, and we succeed.”

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award-winning author

“Erin adeptly interweaves the love of home baking with the precision of professional pastry, all the while empowering the reader to be a better baker, without a hint of intimidation.”

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THE AUTHOR AS A CHILD WITH HER FATHER AND MOTHER

JULIA IN THE AMAZON HOW THE CULINARY ICON CAPTURED THE IMAGINATION OF A YOUNG GIRL IN NORTHERN BRAZIL

by Jaíne Mackievicz

Like most kids living in the middle of the Amazon, I wasn’t brought up conventionally. In our village in Northern Brazil, where only a river separated us from Bolivia, I was a competent canoer and kept a river turtle as a pet. I knew how to hit a target with a bow and arrow and could easily butcher a whole fish. Life was organically imaginative. I believed that the forest was mine, and the whole world was enclosed there.

My parents, migrants from the south of Brazil, are the children of immigrants themselves. During our meals, although the pre-feast prayer was always Polish, the main course could be Italian, German, or African—a reflection of their heritage. Dessert was always Brazilian, enjoyed with loud, festive Portuguese words.

Amid the lush forests, the everlasting Amazonian humidity tasted like childhood happiness to me. I grew up picking fresh fruit from our backyard and licking my fingers, switching from mangoes to avocados, coconuts, passion fruit, açaí, and guaraná. A tropical smorgasbord.

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The essential guide to the flavors, ingredients, and techniques of Japanese cooking.

WINNER OF THE 2020 INTERNATIONAL IACP AWARD

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BOOKS

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FAR LEFT: JAÍNE IN THE KITCHEN. AT LEFT: THE AUTHOR AT PLAY AS A CHILD. BELOW: JULIA ON MISTER ROGERS’ NEIGHBORHOOD

In the after-school afternoons, when too hot to stay inside, I would grab my mom's food magazines and sit under a majestic mango tree. Fruit in one hand, a magazine in the other, I flipped through the pages as a tourist to that universe, admiring each photo of a dish, a glass of rosé, or a chef in a pristine white coat.

My interest was sparked when I spotted Julia in a short clip of an episode from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, proudly eating spaghetti with chopsticks because it was “more fun.” Taller than everybody else, she right away caught my attention, a taller-than-average child myself. From that moment, I learned two things: It is incredibly encouraging to feel represented, and I adored her!

Eating the fresh fruit, I imagined how much better it would taste if served in a fancy restaurant, just like the ones I saw in the magazines, with swan-shaped napkins and fancy silverware. After the sweet banquet, I’d put away the magazine. That was an unobtainable world.

As I watched her stirring that spaghetti bowl with so much laughter and gusto, I wondered why I had never seen anybody like her before. I couldn’t compare her to other chefs I had seen, who cooked with so much caution and rigidity. She was effervescent, vivid, and ceremonious. I knew I had found something I was passionate about, and I remained tremendously interested.

As the only child in my house, I was always on the hunt for entertainment, and early on I discovered how amusing cooking could be. When I was 10, my mom saw the opportunity to start a baking business, as we didn’t have a local bakery. Despite her dislike for everyday cooking, she had a prodigious talent for making cakes. For inspiration, she would watch an afternoon-long cooking show and collect tips from the pâtissier. I would occasionally join her, without much enthusiasm, until I had my first encounter with Julia.

For many reasons, I put this passion on the back burner and grew up to become a lawyer. Life was good until 2011 when an accident took my dad from us. He was my best friend, and saying goodbye to his precious life made me promise to never take anything for granted. So I left my job and invited my boyfriend to pack only the essentials for a new journey.

I told him we would need a dictionary.

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BRING DELICIOUS PERSIAN RECIPES RIGHT TO YOUR HOME The IACP Julia Child First Book Award, presented by The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts “Written with love and filled with beautiful recipes that will take you straight to the heart of Naz’s Persian kitchen.”

—MEERA SODHA,

author of East and Fresh India “Introduce[s] the pleasures and secrets of her mother culture’s cooking to a broad audience that has no idea what it’s been missing.”

—SAMIN NOSRAT, author of Salt, Fat, Acid,

Heat: The Four Elements of Good Cooking

“Bottom of the Pot brings us right to her table, and to all the tables that have informed hers.

Every bit of writing and each recipe is a poem, each photograph so tempting.”

—JULIA TUR SHEN, author of Now & Again

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FROM THAT MOMENT, I LEARNED TWO THINGS: IT IS INCREDIBLY ENCOURAGING TO FEEL REPRESENTED, AND I ADORED HER! Determined to dedicate my life to what brought me the most joy, we left the Amazon. I had read that Julia and Jacques Pépin were the co-founders of a culinary arts program at Boston University, and I knew that was the place I wanted to be. With a great sense of liberty and only enough English to order a coffee, we arrived in Boston.

As the new, snowy life in New England revealed itself, I learned how to cook and bake, and, most importantly, how to eat, always following Julia's guidance. Here I discovered, like she did, the simple pleasure of stepping into new territory and finding the wonderful things that brings. I bought copper pans, visited local restaurants, drank countless glasses of wine, and mixed up many words in English. I became obsessed with American ingredients and with the stories behind the food, just as Julia had been charmed by all things culinary in France.

The village in Brazil I left behind served as a reminder that I was, indeed, an immigrant now, and Julia's story taught me how immigrants can be alike even in the most dissimilar situations. It felt comforting to know that we were both women in the kitchen, struggling to feel worthy and to communicate. My words always sounded better in Portuguese, but like Julia, I didn’t let the lack of vocabulary demotivate me.

Julia's wisdom has been my confident friend on this journey. Her passion for cooking and her zest for life rescued me from my sorrowful moments. Her audacious confidence encouraged me to start my own odyssey. Julia has taught me that it doesn’t matter where I came from or where I am going, or if I am an immigrant or a woman in a patriarchal environment. The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In immigrating, like in cooking, as Julia once stated, “You’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude.”

FROM TOP: THE AUTHOR WITH HER HORSE. FUN TIMES WITH HER FAMILY. JAÍNE TODAY. THE AUTHOR AS A CHILD IN TRADITIONAL DRESS.

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“[A] single person’s guide to cooking without compromise.

This cookbook reframes cooking, which can seem like a chore, as a form of self-care.”

—LIBRARY JOURNAL

“I love that Klancy encourages people to find their groove cooking for one and that she believes in sharing that same pleasure and delicious food with others.”

—MARCUS

SAMUELSSON,

Chef-Owner of Red Rooster Harlem

“Cooking for oneself is more rewarding than ever with this book open on your counter.” —JULIA TURSHEN, Co-author of It’s All Good “This book is an inspiration for anyone who has ever stood alone in the kitchen and wished for something more than a heat-and-eat meal: It’s a corner table for one without ever leaving the house.”

—ELLEN YIN, Co-owner of Fork and High Street on Market

AVAILABLE WHEREVER BOOKS ARE SOLD.

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CHERRY BOMBE + KERRYGOLD ADVERTORIAL

LEANNE SHOR OF LION’S BREAD

IN BLOOM with KERRYGOLD Want to take your next dessert up a notch? We have two easy ways. Use the butter beloved by the world’s best bakers, Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter, and add a lovely spring touch with edible flowers. As every great food stylist and pastry chef knows, flowers are the perfect way to add color and a hint of seasonality to your baked goods.

If you’re not sure where to find edible flowers, check your local farmers’ market or the produce section at your favorite supermarket.

If you haven’t decorated with edible flowers before, LeAnne Shor, the writer, recipe developer, and mom behind the Lion’s Bread blog, suggests starting with candied violets. A light dusting of sugar gives the flowers a crystallized look and instantly elevates any cake, pie, or tart, like LeAnne’s Simple Chocolate Mousse Tart. You won’t believe how beautifully the tart comes together with only six ingredients. Top with the violets and you have the ultimate spring treat that’s as beautiful to look at as it is to eat.

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SIMPLE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE TART WITH CANDIED VIOLETS

Makes one 9-inch tart

5. Beat the remaining heavy whipping cream with a whisk (or an electric hand mixer or stand mixer) for about 5 minutes until the cream reaches soft peaks. Spoon ¼ cup of the whipped cream into the melted chocolate. Gently stir the whipped cream in. The chocolate should look very creamy. Pour the chocolate cream mixture into the larger bowl of whipped cream, and use a rubber spatula to gently fold the chocolate into the cream until completely combined, and no streaks of chocolate remain.

Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 15 minutes CRUST 12 chocolate graham crackers or chocolate biscuits 7 tablespoons Kerrygold Unsalted Pure Irish Butter, melted ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

6. Pour the chocolate mousse into the cooled crust, and use a small offset spatula to smooth out the top. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

FILLING 1¼ cups high quality chocolate, chopped 1¼ cups heavy whipping cream, cold 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the best flavor, remove the tart from the refrigerator about 20 minutes before serving. Just before serving, arrange the violets on top of the tart. Enjoy!

1. Preheat the oven to 350� F. 2. Add the chocolate graham crackers to a blender or food processor and blend on high until finely crushed. Pour the cookie crumbs into a bowl, and add the melted butter and kosher salt. Use a fork to combine thoroughly until all the crumbs are moistened, and the mixture clumps together slightly.

CANDIED VIOLETS 1 cup granulated or superfine sugar 1 egg white 1 teaspoon vodka or water 15 to 20 violets

3. Spray a removable-bottom 9-inch tart pan with nonstick cooking spray. Pour the buttery crumbs into the prepared pan. Use the bottom of a glass or a small measuring cup to press the crumbs firmly up the sides of the pan and over the bottom in a thin layer. Place the tart pan on a baking sheet, and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Pour the sugar into a bowl. Add the egg white and vodka into a separate small bowl and whisk until frothy, about 30 seconds.

Using a small paint brush, lightly brush the egg-vodka mixture on the petals, front and back, of one violet. Hold the violet over the bowl of sugar, and use a spoon to gently sprinkle the sugar over the petals. Make sure the flower is thoroughly coated, then gently shake off the excess.

4. Add the chopped chocolate and 3 tablespoons of the heavy cream to a microwave safe bowl. Heat the chocolate and cream on medium power in 10 second intervals. Stir the chocolate after each interval until it is mostly melted. Keep stirring until the chocolate is completely melted. This should take about 30 to 40 seconds. (This step can also be done in a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over a small pot of simmering water.) Add the vanilla and allow the mixture to cool for 5 minutes.

Place the candied violet onto a parchment-lined baking sheet to dry. Continue one at a time with the rest of the violets. Allow to dry at room temperature for about 1 hour.

BUTTER UP WITH KERRYGOLD

There’s no denying that better butter results in a better baked good. It’s the reason so many baking pros swear by Kerrygold Unsalted Pure Irish Butter, the one you’ll find in the signature silver wrapper or box. Why unsalted? It lets the chefs control the level of salt in their baked goods.

Once you try Kerrygold, you’ll realize that simplicity is the secret to its rich taste. The butter is made with milk from Irish grass-fed cows, giving it a higher butterfat content that makes it perfect for baking. It also means the milk is rich in natural beta-carotene, giving Kerrygold butter its traditional golden color—literally the color of sunshine. Whether you’re trying to make the perfect flaky pie crust or a luscious buttercream, try Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter for your next baking project.

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Discover a playful new take on Middle Eastern cuisine with more than 100 fresh, flavorful recipes.

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THAT TIME WE MET HOW A GIFT OF HOMEMADE ENGLISH MUFFINS CONNECTED A COTTAGE-INDUSTRY BAKER WITH HER HERO

by Diane Rocha illustrations by Nancy Pappas

Fall 1989. Cate was six and Matthew was two. I was a stay-at-home mom; had been since Matthew’s birth. Restless, I had found a gig making English muffins in my kitchen, providing them for the local coffeehouse and Starbucks precursor, the Pannikin. The owner, Bob Sinclair, rode Norton motorcycles with my then-husband. We met when he and I hosted the annual “Norton Prince of Darkness Motorcycle Ride and Chili Cook-Off.” Bob was definitely the most interesting guy in the group and we hit it off, sharing a love of cooking and kitchen paraphernalia.

One night when Bob was visiting, I served him a homemade English muffin topped with butter and my strawberry jam. He loved it. I told him I was thinking of starting a little baking business, and he agreed to sell the English muffins in his stores. I made two gross (that’s 288 muffins) per week. There was a lot of flour flying around my kitchen.

That year, Julia Child published The Way to Cook. When I heard she was coming to nearby La Jolla for a book signing, I was ecstatic. I had long wanted to meet the woman who taught me most of what I knew at that time about cooking. I made a plan. Matthew was too young to go, so I hired our regular babysitter, Julie, to stay with him. I picked her up from school and drove to our house. Cate and I hightailed it to La Jolla. I had brought along a dozen of my freshly baked English muffins. In the box, I added a handwritten note.

Time was tight, but we made it. We walked into the store. Julia wasn’t there yet. And then she was. Cate was excited, too, having spent many hours watching Julia’s videos with me. In fact, since she could remember, Cate’s birthday cake was made from one of Julia’s recipes. It was a classic génoise slathered with homemade whipped cream and decorated with fresh local strawberries. She was excited to meet the woman responsible for her cake.

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From the beloved New York Times Food Columnist Melissa Clark 150 Classic French Recipes Modernized for Today’s Home Cook

Available wherever books are sold

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We stood in line and watched as Julia talked to everyone.

She was so gracious. I felt like I was meeting royalty. But Julia was better than royalty; she was authentic. At last, we were at the front of the line. I handed her assistant my copy of The Way to Cook to be autographed and the box of English muffins, explaining that I had a small business making them.

When it was our turn, the assistant handed Julia the book and the box saying, “This is Diane. She made these English muffins for you. She has a business making them.”

H

SHE ONLY CARED ABOUT THE COOKING. SHE WANTED TO SHARE HER LOVE OF GOOD FOOD WITH EVERYONE.

Julia patted the box with her hand and, in her famous warble, said, “Goody, goody gumdrops! Homemade English muffins!” And then in a serious tone, looking me right in the eyes, she said, “I am so glad you are doing this. Cottage industries like yours are fading, and I wish they would make a comeback.”

We chatted for a few moments. I introduced her to Cate and they talked for another minute or two. The expression on Cate’s face is indelible in my mind.

She was beaming the biggest smile, her eyes lit up. I remember her nodding her head. I can’t remember what words they exchanged, but I do remember being proud to be her mom.

Cate and I pretended to look around the bookstore for a while, but really, we just kept ogling Julia. I think we were equally starstruck.

Julia was as warm and lovely as she is on TV. There was absolutely no pretense. That’s what I love most about her.

Remember that note inside the box of English muffins?

A couple of weeks after the book signing, I received a letter from Julia herself. In it she thanked me for the muffins and… she asked me how I got them to cook on the inside without burning them. Imagine that! Julia Child asking me for cooking advice! So unpretentious.

So real. Her status as TV’s first food celebrity was immaterial to her. She only cared about the cooking. She wanted to share her love of good food with everyone.

She wanted people to experience what she had with her first meal in France—that now-famous sole meunière— the taste of which opened the door to a life that had been waiting for her.

I wrote back to Julia explaining my method with detailed precision. She wrote back! Again! I couldn’t believe it.

And for some reason, I never wrote back to her. It was one of those times I let something slip away, a regret I have to this day.

When Julia died on August 13, 2004, just two days before her 92nd birthday, Cate, now a grown woman living on her own, called me early that morning. I answered with a sleep-slurred voice. When she told me what had happened, we both cried. It was as if we had lost a family member. And in a way, we had.

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From James Beard Award Winning author of Sourdough

HEIRLOOM “Simultaneously traditional and utterly modern, this book truly brings the riches of the old ways of the world into a whole new way of seeing, cooking, and eating for today.

In short, Heirloom is a most impressive work.”

—DEBORAH MADISON,

author of Vegetable Literacy Available wherever books are sold.

ROOST

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BOOKS

3/19/21 11:36 AM

THE ENGLISH MUFFINS I MADE FOR JULIA CHILD

Makes approximately 16 muffins 2 teaspoons active dried yeast 2 cups buttermilk, lukewarm 6 cups unbleached flour 4 teaspoons kosher salt 1 cup cornmeal

Dissolve yeast in 1½ cups warm water. Add buttermilk to the yeast mixture. Add flour (for a heartier texture and a more healthful experience, substitute up to 3 cups whole wheat flour for the white) and salt. Mix with your hand, turning in a circle, making sure each grain of flour is hydrated. It will be a shaggy mass at this point. Cover with plastic wrap and let it be for 40 minutes.

Next, begin the stretch and fold. (This process has replaced the old kneading workout most of us used while cutting our bread-baking teeth in years gone by.) Scoop your hand under the dough, pulling toward you. That is the first fold. Turn the bowl one-quarter. Fold again. Turn one-quarter. Fold. Turn onequarter. Fold. Re-cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes. Repeat this process 3 more times.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Have a sheet pan with parchment paper on it nearby.

Place a grill pan across two burners of your stove, smooth side up. If you don’t have a grill pan, a large cast-iron pan will work fine, too. Heat the pan to medium-hot. Have a small bowl with a cup or so of cornmeal at the ready. The cornmeal will act as ball bearings, helping the rather wet dough to not be too sticky. Using a ½-cup measuring cup, scoop some dough from the bowl and drop it into the smaller bowl with the cornmeal in it. Roll it around in the cornmeal, taking care not to fold the dough over itself or it will have cornmeal inside the muffin. Finish forming the muffin by rolling it around on a flat surface, such as your cutting board or a marble or granite countertop—whatever you like. Roll it around, cupping your hand over it forming it into a ball. Place the muffin on the hot grill pan, flattening it a bit, but not too much. It will naturally flatten out on its own and, as if by magic, rise into gorgeous English muffins.

Repeat with more dough until you have about 8 muffins on your pan, or 4 if using a cast-iron frying pan.

Cook for 5 to 8 minutes taking care not to let them burn or brown too quickly. Practice will help you perfect this. Using a spatula, turn them over and cook for another 5 to 8 minutes, again watching carefully and adjusting the heat to ensure they do not burn. When both sides are a lovely golden brown, using a spatula, transfer them one at a time to the parchment-lined sheet pan. When all of the first batch is ready, place them in the preheated oven for 8 minutes. At the end of 8 minutes, take them out of the oven and place each muffin on a cooling rack.

Repeat if you have any remaining dough.

The trick in making great English muffins is getting them cooked all the way through without burning them.

It takes a little practice, but once you have it, it’s like riding a bike; you will never forget it.

TO SERVE: It is crucial to fork-split English muffins. That’s what gives them the “nooks and crannies” made famous by the Thomas’ English Muffins ad campaign. Simply hold the muffin in one hand while sliding a fork into the side of the muffin. Remove it, slide into it again next to the first insertion. Repeat all the way around. Gently pull apart. Now those are some serious nooks and crannies! Serve with butter and your favorite jam, and I promise, you’ll never go back to anything but homemade.

Store for up to two days at room temperature in a glass or plastic container or plastic bag. You can also freeze the English muffins, but be sure to fork-split them first. You can pop the frozen halves right in the toaster.

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3/23/21 6:14 PM

“A great starter book for anyone who has ever wondered how to make basic Indian food in an American kitchen.”

—From the foreword by PADMA LAKSHMI,

host/executive producer of Bravo’s Top Chef and New York Times best-selling author

“Bring on the kachumber, dahi toast, and tomato rice with crispy cheddar, please!”

—DEB PERELMAN,

author of Smitten Kitchen Every Day and The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

“[Indian-ish] sends a powerful message—we can all tap into our heritage to access the recipes that connect us to where our parents and grandparents came from.”

—ANTONI POROWSKI, cohost of Queer Eye and New York Times

best-selling author

“One of the most important young voices on the food scene.” —KERRY DIAMOND, editor-in-chief of Cherry Bombe

AVAILABLE WHEREVER BOOKS ARE SOLD.

HMH

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2/19/21 10:47 AM

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EASY NATURALLY-SWEETENED CHERRY-BERRY JAM

Makes 3 to 4 pints

Use any combination of fresh or frozen cherries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries. I usually use equal parts blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries, and double the cherries. Yes, pitting the cherries is a bit of a pain, but so worth it.

2 cups cherries, halved and pitted 1 cup blueberries 1 cup raspberries 1 cup blackberries 1 lemon 1 tablespoon maple syrup

Place cherries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries in an 8-quart Dutch oven. Add the juice of 1 lemon and toss the halved lemon in the pot. This will be discarded later, but there is pectin in the pith that will help to thicken the jam.

Add maple syrup. Bring to a boil and cook until all that fruit has a jam-like consistency. Test by placing a small plate in the freezer. When you think it is done, place a spoonful of jam on the plate. If it is runny and juicy, clean off the plate and place it back in the freezer. If it seems jam-like, place the plate with the jam in the freezer for 30 seconds. Take it out and examine it carefully. Run your finger through it. If it is nice and thick and looks like jam, it is, in fact, jam. If not, keep cooking until it is the consistency you like.

Discard the lemon halves and ladle the jam into containers, keeping one in the fridge and freezing the rest.

NOTE: If you ever open a jar of jam, whether canned, frozen, or having outstayed its welcome in the fridge, and it has even the tiniest trace of mold on it, throw it away immediately. Do not take chances.

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3/19/21 11:37 AM

CHERRY BOMBE + CYPRESS GROVE ADVERTORIAL

Cheese, Please!

THE CYPRESS GROVE STORY Cypress Grove founder Mary Keehn wasn’t looking to change the cheese world when she started her small, admittedly hippie-ish cheese-making operation. She was a single mom in search of a solution: what to do with all that goat’s milk she had on hand.

Mary was living with her four children in a log cabin in rural Northern California, when she decided some goats would be a good idea, both for milk and for brush control. Her neighbor had a herd, and she welcomed Mary to help herself to a goat or two, if she could catch them. In time, those two goats—Esmeralda and Hazel—became 50, which meant that Mary now had a lot of goat’s milk. So she started making cheese. Keep in mind, Mary was milking the goats by hand and selling the cheese and milk on the honor system.

GET YOUR GOAT:

1

AN EASY GUIDE TO THE THREE TYPES OF CYPRESS GROVE GOAT CHEESE

SOFT-RIPENED Cypress Grove’s signature cheese, with a distinctive bloomy (and edible) mushroomy rind, gooey creamline, and dense paste.

Look for Humboldt Fog, Humboldt Fog Haze Remix, Fog Lights, Truffle Tremor, Little Giant, and Bermuda Triangle

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FRESH Always tangy and bright.

Go plain and simple, or with unexpected bursts of floral flavor, herbaceousness, or umami.

Available in resealable cups or disks. Look for Purple Haze, Ms. Natural, Herbs de Humboldt, PsycheDillic, and Sgt. Pepper.

3

HARD Aged for three months and beyond, these cheeses are firm in texture and perfect for melting, marinating, and snacking right off the wheel. Look for Midnight Moon and Lamb Chopper.

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In 1983, she officially launched Cypress Grove. A friend encouraged her to attend the Fancy Food Show to spread the word about her American goat cheese, so she did—with her product literally stuffed in her purse.

“There’s no reason this should have succeeded,” said Mary, looking back at her improbable story.

But she did succeed. From those humble beginnings in Humboldt, a cheese legend was born. Today, Cypress Grove is known for its fine cheese alchemy: simple ingredients transformed into award-winning iconic cheese, like the famous Humboldt Fog (look right for more!), one of the most delicious and picturesque cheeses in the world, and the charming newcomer, Little Giant, four ounces of fudgy, Brie-like goodness.

(Say hi, below right.)

HUMBOLDT FOG FAST FACTS!

But great cheese isn’t enough today. Cypress Grove is also transforming the American goat dairy industry via their model dairy, which the American Humane Association has endorsed as Humane Certified with a 100-percent score multiple years running. The Cypress Grove dairy is designed and managed primarily with the health and happiness of their herd in mind. The animals have access to pasture and well-ventilated, naturally-lit indoor areas—not to mention enough space and time for loafing between milkings.

* * * * *

Sustainability is also a priority. When Cypress Grove expanded their energy efficient creamery, they exceeded California Green Building Standards Code and several non-mandatory provisions to encourage energy conservation and promote green practices.

It’s great to know as you build that cheeseboard, reach into the fridge for a snack, or create a beautiful salad with your Cypress Grove goat cheese as the star, that so much love, thoughtfulness, and cheese history is in each bite. Want to try Cypress Grove for yourself? Talk to your favorite cheesemonger, check out your local cheese counter, or visit cypressgrovecheese.com.

That gorgeous grey line that runs through the center of this soft-ripened goat cheese? It’s completely edible vegetable ash.

The idea for Humboldt Fog? It actually came to Cypress Grove founder Mary Keehn in a dream!

Good reason to keep some paper and pen bedside.

So. Many. Awards. American Cheese Society. World Cheese Awards. California State Fair. London International Cheese Competition. Cypress Grovers don’t like to brag… but the mantle is groaning.

Can you eat the rind? You absolutely can, no kidding. And don’t worry. You’re not the only one who’s asked that question.

How to store? Keep your Humboldt Fog chilly, in the 32º-40ºF range, and wrapped in waxed or parchment paper so it can breathe as it continues to ripen. Remove your cheese buddy from the fridge at least one hour before serving.

NEW KID IN TOWN

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No Kiddi

Make room in your heart and on your cheeseboard for the soft-ripened Little Giant.

This bright and fudgy new friend represents the latest chapter in the Cypress Grove American goat cheese story! Cheese-plate perfect, Little Giant is smooth, buttery, and delicate and plays well with others, both sweet and savory. You can serve with briny olives, shortbread cookies, wildflower honey, or whatever your imagination dreams up.

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JULIA & THE REINDEER SALAMI WHAT A CHANCE ENCOUNTER IN OSLO REVEALED ABOUT MY GRANDMOTHER SYLVIA

by Remy P. Tumin photo by Paul Child

JULIA AND PAUL IN OSLO. PHOTO COURTESY OF SCHLESINGER LIBRARY, RADCLIFFE INSTITUTE, HARVARD UNIVERSITY. 56

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From craft cocktail maven Alba Huerta, a tribute to the spirits and drinking traditions of the South, with 80 recipes and photos.

IACP Award Winner

Available wherever books are sold

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W SU UN

A FIRST EDITION OF JULIA’S ICONIC COOKBOOK, GIVEN TO THE AUTHOR

BY HER GRANDMOTHER

SYLVIA SMILING, NO SALAMI IN SIGHT

Everyone in my family knows the Julia Child story.

Sylvia waited for the day that she, too, would be invited over for quiche. When it finally came, Julia was exactly what Sylvia had hoped she would be. Almost.

My grandfather Mel had two destinations to choose from for a Fulbright scholarship in 1960: Buenos Aires, where he, my grandmother Sylvia, and their two young sons could live in a villa with a full staff, or post-war Oslo. Much to Sylvia’s chagrin, he settled on a long, cold Norwegian winter.

“She’s very gracious and very charming—with Julia, what you see is what you get,” Sylvia said. At one point, Julia excused herself to the kitchen and returned with a big tray.

It was in Oslo that my grandfather met Paul Child, a State Department employee stationed there with his wife Julia, an unknown author finishing up a cookbook manuscript. One night, the Childs invited Mel over for after-dinner drinks and he came home raving about “the most extraordinary wonderful dish.”

“I look at the tray and I don’t see any quiche,” Sylvia said. Instead, Julia was serving them a local delicacy: reindeer salami.

“You can imagine my disappointment,” my grandmother said.

“I do not recommend the salami.”

Julia would go on to publish Mastering the Art of French Cooking the following year.

"I was grumpy because I had spent the day doing my Norwegian laundry," said my grandmother, referring to the laborious process of donning rubber boots and washing the family's clothes and linens with a hand-wringer in the basement. “He said it was something called quiche.”

So when a dozen people gathered at Sylvia’s small, sociallydistanced funeral this past summer, I was ready to tell the story.

The only problem: so was everyone else. They told their own version of the story, with additions about my grandmother’s famous spaghetti, brisket, and tuna noodle casserole. The steaks she would grill on summer weekends. The well-stocked pantry whose shelves seemed to go on forever.

“This is 1960, so who knew about quiche?” she added. “I had never seen him so excited about any dish.”

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WELCOME TO THE SUGAR-FUELED, CREATIVE UNIVERSE OF CHRISTINA TOSI.

CHRISTINA TOSI is the two-time James Beard Award–winning chef, owner of Milk Bar, and a judge on the MasterChef Junior series.

It’s a universe of ooey-gooey banana-chocolate-peanut butter cakes from All About Cake and her classic compost cookie from MomoFuku Milk Bar to their savory counterparts in Milk Bar Life. Tosi makes baking irresistible off-beat treats at home both foolproof and fun.

Available Wherever Books Are Sold

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POTTER

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F

Blame it on grief or a much needed dose of dark humor, but I felt compelled to share a little-known fact about Sylvia.

“My grandmother did not think very highly of herself as a cook,” I told the small group that had assembled, as well as the others watching on Zoom. To compensate, she mastered a handful of dishes, the very ones people were mentioning and that everyone adored. Those dishes had become part of her legacy.

“I needed the support of cookbooks,” Sylvia once told me.

“Anything that would give me some confidence. I was not a confident cook. I was a medium-good cook, but not like you.”

F

What attracted viewers and home cooks, including myself, to Julia were her imperfections. Julia didn’t feel obliged to make cooking look fun or glamorous, just accessible and delicious. My grandmother brought a similar matter-of-fact approach into her kitchen as well as her life, most of the time anyway. When she retold the reindeer salami story to whomever would ask, there was always a tinge of sadness to it: that life sometimes handed you reindeer salami on a cold Norwegian night instead of being served a cocktail on an Argentinian veranda.

Like Julia, who didn’t find her calling until her 40s, my grandmother Sylvia would later reinvent herself. Once my dad and uncle were grown, she trained as an interior designer but couldn’t find work and decided to become a social worker instead.

With the Norway story now told, I improvised and drew on another Julia Child connection. Sylvia may not have been Julia in the kitchen, but the two women were both remarkable card givers. I talked about how my grandmother never missed a birthday or holiday, her perfect script handwriting framing a Hallmark message.

While my grandmother carried the letdown of the reindeer salami incident with her forever, the couples struck up a friendship over correspondence in the years following their stint in Oslo. The Childs sent my grandparents their annual Valentine's Day cards designed by Paul. In 1962, they wrote: “We (Julia especially) are delighted that you like the cookbook.

So did we: a fine meeting of minds, or gustatory sensitivities, or something.” A few years ago, Sylvia gave me the two cards she had saved and her original 1961 copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

On the last night of Hanukkah this year, I realized it was the first time I wouldn’t be getting a card from my grandmother. I still have the one she gave me last year on my fridge.

“May the sweetness of this season delight your heart, fill your home and last all year long,” the Hallmark card read, with an added note from Sylvia.

“Sure, why not? Much much love, Grandma.”

THE FAMOUS JULIA & PAUL VALENTINE’S DAY CARDS, SENT TO THE AUTHOR’S GRANDPARENTS

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From the founder and host of the

Honeysuckle YouTube channel

1 0 0 C R AV E -W O R T H Y, WHOLESOME RECIPES A N D T I M E - S AV I N G T I P S FOR BUSY HOME COOKS

AVA I L A B L E W H E R E V E R BOOKS ARE SOLD

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CRÊPE EXPECTATIONS AN EASY AND ELEGANT DISH INSPIRED

BY ONE OF THE FEISTIEST FEMALES EVER story and illustrations by Ashley Schütz and Ashly Jernigan

We are two American friends, living in Switzerland, and uniting our passions as chef and illustrator. Currently, we are pouring our hearts into our fully illustrated, still-in-progress, feminist cookbook—The Feisty Feast. We pair original recipes with trailblazing women throughout history and from across the globe. By introducing iconic females through food, we’re fusing the arts of storytelling and cooking, and we’re hoping to bring larger conversations to your table. Now onto the ever-amazing Julia Child!

Singling out one recipe to represent Julia Child was an almost impossible task. Images of her, larger-than-life, in a tiny French kitchen, hovering over eight raw chicken legs and a kilo of butter, will always have a place in our imaginations.

We could have chosen any number of glorious, indulgent dishes to showcase here—how about the mighty lobster bisque or cassoulet? Nah. If you can only make one Julia-inspired recipe today, we suggest you try the delightfully dependable French classic, Crêpe Salée. In the afternoon, you can whip up a double batch of crêpe batter, then in the evening, fill the crêpes with creamy leeks and a salad on the side. The extra batter will give you the opportunity to spread orange butter or cherry jam on thin layers of fluffy-chewy crêpes for breakfast the next day. WIN WIN! On The French Chef crêpe episode, some of Julia’s golden takeaways included using a bacon rind to season her non-stick skillet and referring to her finished crêpes as having a “public and non-public” side.

This crêpe recipe is a canvas onto which you can paint anything. Here we created a filling that makes these crêpes a meal, loading them with sweet leeks and earthy spinach laced with a dab of cream—a touch we think Julia would have approved. We topped our savory-sweet creation with aged mountain cheese (we suggest Gruyère, Comté, or Beaufort) and a crispy sheet of raclette, because who doesn't love more cheese on their crêpe?

Now! Go pour yourself a glass of crisp Sancerre to enjoy alongside this cheesy crêpe and imagine what questions you would ask Julia if you could sit across the counter from her, back in time, in The French Chef’s kitchen.

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LA CRÊPE SALÉE WITH CREAMY LEEK FILLING

Freshly grated nutmeg 2 cups aged mountain cheese, grated (see note above) 4 to 5 cups loosely packed fresh spinach 8 slices raclette cheese, cut into squares, 3 to 4 inches in diameter

CRÊPES ½ cup milk ½ cup water 1 cup flour 2 eggs ¼ teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons melted butter

To make the filling, preheat a large skillet over medium heat. Melt the butter and add the sliced leeks along with a pinch of salt. Cook down, without browning the leeks, about 6 to 8 minutes. Deglaze the pan with vermouth or white wine and cook until mostly evaporated. Add the cream, a few drags of fresh nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste.

Cook until thickened. Turn off the heat and set aside.

Makes 8 to 10 crêpes

Preheat the oven to broil. To assemble, lay a single crêpe onto a parchment-lined sheet tray. Spread 3 to 4 tablespoons of creamed leeks in a thin layer over the crêpe. Top with a small handful of spinach leaves and 3 to 4 tablespoons grated cheese. Fold into a square shape using the creamed leeks as a glue, then press down gently with a spatula to flatten slightly. Continue assembling the remaining crêpes, keep them separated with sheets of parchment paper, and set aside.

Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Pause to scrape down the sides as needed. Let rest for 2 hours.

Preheat a crêpe pan or nonstick skillet. Run a small chunk of butter (or a leftover bacon rind, per Julia’s suggestion) around the bottom of the pan. Working quickly, add ¼ cup of the rested batter to the hot skillet and swirl it around so that the batter spreads in a thin layer, covering the surface. Note that the first crêpe is almost always a test, a way to gauge if the conditions are right. Once the top surface is completely dry, flip with a flick of your wrist or the help of a rubber spatula. Move to a plate and repeat. Cover your stacked crêpes with foil, then make the filling.

In a large skillet (we use a well-seasoned cast iron) on medium-high heat, add a few slices of raclette cheese directly to the hot pan’s surface. Be careful not to crowd the pan as the cheese will melt and spread. When the edges look lacey and you think a golden crust has developed on the bottom, then it’s time to choose your own adventure: Would you like two crispy sides to your raclette or one crispy and one melty side? To flip, or not to flip, that is the question.

We support both options! If flipping, now is the time to do so. Once your two sides are how you like them, set aside to garnish.

FILLING 3 tablespoons butter 2 leeks, white and light green parts only, cleaned well and sliced thin (about 4 cups) Salt and pepper 2 tablespoons vermouth or dry white wine ½ cup cream

Broil the crêpes just until the cheese is melted.

Plate and top each with a slice of crispy raclette. Enjoy!

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JULIA AND HER CREW. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: SARA MOULTON AND FRIENDS, MICHAEL AND DORIE GREENSPAN, SARA OFF SET, AND CHARLOTTE AKOTO.

JULIA CHILD WAS MY BOSS AND OTHER STORIES

by Audrey Payne

When is it okay to lie during a job interview? Probably when the chance to work for Julia Child is on the line. In the late 1980s, Julia, already one of the most loved figures in American pop culture, was suffering from a case of office gridlock. When she called up Katharine Gibbs College in search of a secretary, they had the perfect candidate: Stephanie Hersch, a Culinary Institute of America grad with dreams of working in a restaurant who was just about to sit for her final secretarial school exam. But there was one problem. Julia was adamant that the person she hired have no intentions of getting in the kitchen.

So, Stephanie’s first phone call with her future boss was also the first time she remembers deliberately telling a lie. “I said, ‘I don’t want to get in the kitchens, I just spent all of this money learning how to type, I want to be in the office.’” When Julia asked Stephanie to start the same day she was set to graduate, Stephanie had one message for the school: “Mail me my diploma! I’m going to work for Julia Child!”

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Th

s e S n o T f e M e exi w S c e Journey into the soul of Mexican desserts with these beautifully photographed, recipe-filled books from pastry chef Fany Gerson.

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AvAilable wherever books are sold

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So, what was it like working for the French Chef? “No two days were the same, and every day was an adventure,” said Stephanie, who quickly turned her 12-hour-a-week position into a full-time job as Julia’s executive assistant, a title she kept until Julia’s death in 2004. Julia was methodical about planning and kept herself on a very precise schedule, but she was also wildly funny.

“She had an impish sense of humor,” said Stephanie. “Even when we weren’t working, you always knew that there would be laughter. She was the same personality on air as off air.”

A former employee of the Office of Strategic Services, the precursor to the CIA, Julia liked things to be organized and filed correctly. On set, however, she could be improvisational and spontaneous. Stephanie recalled that when Julia and Jaques Pépin were filming Julia & Jacques Cooking at Home, the duo knew what ingredients they would be featuring—things like eggs, turkey, and potatoes—but had no idea what they were going to make until the cameras started rolling. The team behind the scenes would over prepare and try to think of every ingredient they might possibly need. It usually worked out, but if things went wrong, Julia almost always kept the footage in the show.

it by her first. ”Her feeling was that you never stop learning. But the more you do, the more you learn—so do more!”

Naturally, being part of the Julia family also meant eating together.

When filming Julia Child & Company in 1978, the team would always break for lunch. A civilized affair, the table would be set with a proper tablecloth, crockery, and glassware. Although food was often a topic of conversation, these weren’t working lunches.

A little vermouth would be poured and Julia’s friends, other culinary icons, and, one time, even the inventor of the Cuisinart made guest appearances. “After lunch, of course, things moved much more slowly,” said Sara, “so I understand in subsequent tapings they did not serve wine at lunch!” And while she was by no accounts a fussy eater, there was one thing that you’d never see on Julia’s plate. The French Chef wasn’t a fan of specks of black pepper in her food and preferred ground white pepper.

If you worked with Julia, you’d inevitably end up hanging out with Julia. This sometimes involved attending—and helping prepare three-course meals for—dinner parties held at her house. Julia and company would cook in America’s most famous kitchen, with the magnetic knife strip and the famous Paul Childdesigned pegboard. “In the middle of the whole thing, Julia would often turn around and say, ‘Aren’t we having so much fun?’” said Sara.

The fun didn’t extend to splashy desserts. “Her idea of an ideal dessert would be a perfectly ripe pear,” said Stephanie, but Julia still knew how to round out the evening. At the end of dinner parties, everyone would go to the living room and watch Dan Aykroyd’s impression of Julia from Saturday Night Live. “Julia thought it was a riot,” said Sara.

This willingness to make mistakes was part of what drew audiences to Julia, and speaks to her humility.

“She was really down to earth,” said Charlotte Akoto, a former hotel pastry chef who guested on an episode of Julia’s 1996 series, Baking with Julia. Days on set were long, but, according to Charlotte, Julia was still able to make everyone feel welcome and create “an atmosphere of warmth and love.” Dorie Greenspan, who wrote the companion Baking with Julia cookbook, fondly remembers mornings spent with Julia while Dining with Julia might sound like shooting. Julia’s day started in the a dream, and being on set was no Red Room, so named because it STEPHANIE HERSCH WITH JULIA CHILD doubt a hoot, but the one thing was decorated with paintings by people who worked with her stress her husband Paul Child that were primarily red. She’d watch the news, read The New York Times is how interested she was in others—and how much she cared and The Boston Globe, and, while her hair and makeup were about them. “She was very welcoming. I felt like I was at home being done, chat with Dorie. They talked about everything from with Julia,” said Laurie Donnelly, an executive producer who world events to what they had for dinner. “It was just the stuff worked with Julia on a radio program in the early 2000s at GBH that makes a day begin,” said Dorie. The two bonded and spoke (formerly WGBH), the public media outlet that also produced The French Chef and many of Julia’s other shows. As Dorie put on the phone every day until Julia’s death. it, “When Julia looked at you, she looked at you. There was no There was one thing they didn’t discuss. When Baking with Julia one else in the world. She was focused on you and you got the finished shooting and it was time for Dorie to start writing the feeling that—and I think it was genuine—that she wanted to book, she suggested to Julia that she send her the work as it was know what you had to say.” Perhaps part of the magic of Julia completed. Julia refused. She was a trusting boss, and let Dorie was her ability to make everyone feel seen. do what she was hired to do. “She hugged me and she said, ‘Go home and write your book,’” Dorie recalled. “I was an absolute This care reached beyond the people who worked with her wreck!” But knowing that Julia had confidence in her abilities directly. At the end of big fundraising events, for example, when was enough motivation to complete the project. the guests had gone home and everyone was exhausted, Julia made sure to extend her appreciation to those behind the scenes.

For some, working for Julia also meant becoming part of the “Julia would walk into the kitchen and say ‘thank you’ to the family. “Julia had many children,” said Sara Moulton, who people who had been peeling carrots and boiling potatoes,” said was hired by Julia in 1978 to help with food styling and later Stephanie. “She thanked everyone from the pot washer on up.” worked on her Good Morning America appearances, “and I was one of her children.” Julia guided and supported these chosen Julia is often called the woman who taught America how to family members and encouraged them to stay as curious and cook, but it seems she also taught the people lucky enough to passionate about their work as she was. “I blame her for why I work with her a great deal more. “The one thing that I learned almost always have had three jobs,” said Sara, whom Julia once from her actions,” said Stephanie, “is that it is very nice to be signed up to stage in France for three months without running important and it is much more important to be nice.”

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Heirloom Kitchen H E R I TA G E R E C I P E S A N D FA M I LY S T O R I E S FRO M T H E TA B L E S O F I M M I G R A N T WO M E N

THE STORY OF AMERICAN FOOD IS THE STORY OF IMMIGRANT FOOD. CELEBRATE THE CULINARY TRADITIONS OF STRONG, EMPOWERING IMMIGRANT WOMEN. A GORGEOUS ILLUSTRATED COOKBOOK FILLED WITH 100 MOUTHWATERING RECIPES.

“Heirloom Kitchen is a stunning book that delves deeply into the rich cooking traditions of immigrant women and the immense legacy they have left on the American palate and food customs.”

—JACQUES PÉPIN, chef, bestselling author, and television personality

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HOW The French Chef GOT THE GREEN LIGHT RUSS MORASH, A PRODUCER ON JULIA’S FIRST SHOW, THE FRENCH CHEF, AND MANY OF HER OTHER PROGRAMS, RECALLS EARLY DAYS ON SET

a high-ceilinged, very rough warehouse. It was a noisy, creaky, funky place—but it had the equipment.

I first heard about Julia when I was substituting for a friend who had been producing a program at WGBH where they would interview authors as they came through Cambridge, Massachusetts. Julia was there promoting her magnum opus [Mastering the Art of French Cooking]—you’ve probably heard about that one.

It was a working warehouse, so occasionally the freight elevator would go off and somebody would have to make a delivery in the middle of filming. Julia would stop what she was doing and say, “Oh, that must be the plumber, it’s about time he showed up,” or some other gag. She was a character, and boy, did she charm you.

The phone rang and I heard this very unusual voice on the other side. She said, “I’m going to be on Mr. Duhamel’s I’ve Been Reading program, and I need a hot plate!” I understood her to say that she was going to make an omelette on the program, which was highly irregular. I said, “I’ll put through your request.”

There were no cooking programs on television at the time.

There were a few in history, but we weren’t aware of them, so it was a clean slate. We were severely limited because they [WGBH] didn’t have any money. We would prepare two programs to be recorded in one take, so we would rehearse, then do it. Julia had to do a continuous take because the tape was so valuable that no editing was allowed.

That night she came onto the show with Al [Duhamel, the host]. They sat around a table and she had her hot plate, eggs, and her omelette pan. She just dazzled Al and made a wonderful omelette for him; it was quite surprising how good it tasted and how she presented herself. She dazzled everybody who saw the show—about six people I think. Her appearance provoked a few phone calls and that got the attention of people who ran WGBH. They said, “Russ, can you put together three or four pilots? We’ll test them out and see if anybody wants to see her on television.”

We’d break for lunch and we’d either eat what Julia had made in the morning or, more often, people would disappear because the crew wanted very little to do with the things that Julia was cooking. They had never been exposed to anything like that. Like me, they did not know what pâté de foie gras was, they didn’t know what asparagus were! A roast goose for lunch was not on any of my crew’s menu.

The few people that saw it [the show] were impressed and thought Julia was a hoot. There was a groundswell of public appreciation, acceptance, and encouragement. Pretty much the audience grew, and the rest is history.

Unfortunately, we had managed to burn down our television studio, so we were operating on loaned and borrowed equipment. We found Julia an old warehouse that had been used as a demonstration kitchen for salesmen. Think of it as

IMAGE COURTESY OF SCHLESINGER LIBRARY, RADCLIFFE INSTITUTE, HARVARD UNIVERSITY

as told to Audrey Payne

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IMAGE COURTESY OF SCHLESINGER LIBRARY, RADCLIFFE INSTITUTE, HARVARD UNIVERSITY

From a mother-daughter duo and the traditions of four generations of Black women, 80 healthy recipes to help everyone live longer and stronger

“Soul Food Love has preserved our traditions but reinvented how they’re prepared. Its focus on health is a godsend.”

—VIOLA DAVIS Available wherever books are sold

NAACP IMAGE AWARD WINNER POTTER

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MIMI AS A YOUNG WOMAN. BELOW: THE AUTHOR, MIMI'S GRANDDAUGHTER SALLIE, AT JULIA’S STOVE.

A LIFE WELL SEASONED MEMORIES OF A GLAMOROUS GRANDMOTHER WHO PRIZED FAMILY, GREAT FOOD, AND SPECIAL GATHERINGS

by Sallie Lewis

Years ago, my grandmother, Mimi, bought a historic schoolhouse in the Texas Hill Country. Though it’s been years now since she’s passed, every time I picture the home with its sprawling stone kitchen, I can see her stovetops bubbling with stocks, and smell the perfume of celery powder, sweet basil, parsley, and paprika drifting from her spice racks.

When I close my eyes, I can imagine her halo of hair, swirled like a light meringue, as she sprinkles seasonings into copper cauldrons brimming with mushroom soup and pumpkin bisque.

Cooking was one of Mimi’s foremost pleasures. As a military wife, she and my grandfather traveled the world, living everywhere from Honolulu, Hawaii, to Okinawa, Japan, before returning to Texas with their five children. Gathering around the table was a lifelong commitment for my grandmother, an important ritual that fostered a feeling of home no matter where she and her loved ones were stationed.

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“the

greatest dessert book in the history of the world.”

—bon appétit

a timeless, one-of-a-kind collection filled with 175 of claudia fleming’s enchanting original recipes that will inspire dessert enthusiasts everywhere

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THE SCHOOLHOUSE

MIMI

SCHOOLHOUSE KITCHEN

MIMI AND FAMILY. ABOVE RIGHT, HER MAXIM DIPLOMA.

Today, the schoolhouse remains in our family and keepsakes from Mimi’s storied life lay ageless inside, as if frozen in amber. One of the most special mementos—a diploma from Maxim’s in Paris—still hangs in her country kitchen. In the 1950s, my grandmother enrolled in a cooking course at this popular Art Nouveau establishment on Rue Royale. Her experience abroad, pursuing her passion for food, wine, and art de vivre, inspired my own culinary awakening more than half a century later.

A mistral blew through the lavender fields as I made the last phone call to my grandmother. Though more than 5,000 miles stretched between us, I can still hear her voice, as distinctive and warble-like as Julia’s own, telling me to never stop learning, loving, and trying new things. Even in death she was unafraid, and she showed me how to say goodbye gracefully.

It’s been 10 years now since I traveled to Provence. With every year that passes, the memories richen, and I grow more appreciative of the strong women who preceded me. Women like my grandmother and Julia Child, whose passion for cooking, food, and nurturing others was as rich as their love of life.

In 2011, I attended a weeklong cooking class at Chanteduc, the 18th-century French farmhouse of American food critic and cookbook author, Patricia Wells. Over the course of my stay, I foraged for fruits and vegetables in Patricia’s garden and prepared a smorgasbord of savory recipes: zucchini blossoms stuffed with goat cheese and herbs, Provençal pistou with fresh white beans, and lavender honey ice cream. The pièce de résistance, however, was cooking in “Julia’s Kitchen.”

Over the years, I’ve noticed numerous connections between Julia and Mimi. Like Julia, my grandmother had a tall, commanding presence and palpable joie de vivre. Both battled breast cancer and went on to live remarkable, worldly lives. They even called Washington, D.C., home at different stages in their journeys.

Julia Child visited Chanteduc on various occasions, one of which was her 80th birthday party, complete with dancing and live music from a Barbary organ. Patricia later acquired Julia’s stove—an Art Deco, two-burner gas varietal by La Cornue—from her home near Grasse, and built a summer kitchen to house it.

As a graduate student in D.C., my Georgetown apartment was a short walk from Mimi’s former home and Julia’s first house on Olive Street, where she wrote parts of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Often, I’d stroll by their residences, feeling the connection strengthen between us. Sometimes I went to the Smithsonian where Julia’s kitchen is on display. Seeing it reminded me of my days in the south of France, where I learned lessons both in the kitchen and in life.

I will never forget the days I spent cooking in that kitchen, making dishes like tangy chickpea-and-sesame hummus with golden pita bread, nor will I forget the sunlit afternoons perusing the markets and sipping wine beneath Patricia’s pergola. I couldn’t wait to share the memories with Mimi.

While Julia taught countless people how to cook, Mimi taught me how to live. Hers was a life well-seasoned with a recipe all her own.

After she died, we honored her final wish by scattering her ashes at the schoolhouse. Today, Mimi’s spirit lives on there like a fine wine, ready to be uncorked and toasted with gusto.

On my last day of class, I received an unexpected phone call from home. Since I’d left, my grandmother’s battle with blood cancer had worsened dramatically. With time dwindling and hospice moving in, she wanted to say goodbye.

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FROM ONE OF THE MOST E X C I T I N G C H E F S I N A M E R I C A T O D AY 8 0 R E C I P E S T H AT C E L E B R AT E I M P E C C A B L E T E C H N I Q U E A N D B R I D G E K I S H ’ S KO R E A N H E R I TAG E , M I C H I G A N U P B R I N G I N G , B O S TO N C O O K I N G Y E A R S , A N D M O R E

Kish’s path from Korean orphan to American adoptee, and sometime model to distinguished chef, shines a light on her determination and love of food. Her recipes are surprising yet refined, taking the expected—an ingredient or a technique—and using it in a new way to make dishes that are unique and irresistible.

“These are the feel-good foods you wish your mom made. They are tasty, flavorsome, and familiar enough to be appreciated by both the professional and home cook alike.”

—DAVE CHANG, chef and founder, Momofuku

Available wherever books are sold

POT TER

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Juliaʼs LESSER KNOWN LEGACY THE CONNECTION BETWEEN JULIA CHILD’S SUPPORT OF PLANNED PARENTHOOD AND THE POLITICAL BAKE SALES OF TODAY

by Alana Al-Hatlani

Julia Child is remembered for many things: her staggering height, her contagious joy, but not her politics. On camera, she reserved her outrage for the likes of bottled salad dressings and boxed cake mixes.

Outside the kitchen, Julia was known as an ardent Democrat. “She wasn’t one-dimensional,” said Bill Adler, a music journalist and friend of Julia’s.

“Food was not the only thing that engaged her.” Perhaps one of the least noted things about Julia during her lifetime was her support for Planned Parenthood, even though she appeared around the country at fundraising events for the organization, from the inaugural Food Fare in Los Angeles in 1979 to events in Providence and Memphis.

While her cooking demonstrations at these fundraisers were mostly well received, Julia was picketed in Memphis, as she told Interview magazine in a conversation included in Julia Child: The Last Interview and Other Conversations.

“Every time they appeared they’d have little babies in their arms with signs saying IF YOU HAD YOUR WAY I WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN BORN. There were only ten in all, but every time they appeared, they’d be photographed by television,” Julia said. “Just because they were there, it was news; we who are pro women’s rights must do a great deal to get our views across.”

In her introduction to The Last Interview, New Yorker writer Helen Rosner notes how Julia became increasingly vocal about her politics later in life, tackling the Republican party’s growing anti-feminism. In 1982, the same year as the Memphis event, during the fiercely anti-abortion Reagan administration, Julia penned a pledge letter for Planned Parenthood cementing her stance as pro-choice. In that letter, reproduced in the special 2005 Julia Child issue of Gastronomica, in an article by Darra Goldstein called “Cooking Up a Storm,” Julia wrote, “Few politicians will take the risk of publicly supporting either contraception or abortion—and who is ‘for abortion’ anyway? We are concerned with freedom of choice.”

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Julia was born in 1912, eight years before women gained the right to vote, to a conservative family. It wasn’t until attending Smith College that she adopted left-leaning views. World War II began when Julia was in her twenties and women's roles in society shifted, which Julia, working for the Office of Strategic Services, experienced firsthand. Her career trajectory ran parallel to the women’s movement of the 1960s and the Roe v. Wade decision of 1973. She didn’t self-identify as a feminist, but by out-earning her husband and having her own successful career, her television show was a political statement in itself.

Her support for Planned Parenthood could seem at odds with the domesticity of her cooking show, but as her assistant Stephanie Hersh noted, Julia liked the idea of affordable and accessible healthcare. “She was a strong advocate of people having access to information, whether that be about cooking and food or birth control,” Hersh said.

NATASHA PICKOWICZ PHOTO BY HEIDI HARRIS

Julia’s work was the precursor to the annual Planned Parenthood bake sale in New York City, organized by Pastry Chef Natasha Pickowicz and other locals on the food scene. There were echoes of Julia in Pickowicz’s explanation as to why she got involved.

“I was thinking specifically about [the Trump] administration's determination to remove basic health rights that all people should enjoy, including autonomy over your body,” she said. Prior to the pandemic, Planned Parenthood bake sales were taking place in multiple cities around the country, and had galvanized politically minded bakers and pastry chefs.

The choice of a bake sale is historically significant. These events stem from a history of women using their “domestic skills” to fundraise, according to historian Daniel Gifford, writing on the American Museum of Natural History blog: from the Civil War, where women organized fairs to sell food and crafts, generating more than $3 million then (or the equivalent of $60 million today, Gifford noted) to the Suffragettes, who used bake sales to fund their movement. Both Julia and Pickowitz worked in the tradition of progressive women before them who had used cooking as a catalyst for change.

BAKERS AGAINST RACISM COFOUNDERS ROB RUBBA (AT LEFT. PHOTO BY REY LOPEZ) AND WILLA PELINI (BELOW, PHOTO

BY DEB RUBBA)

In June 2020, three chefs, Paola Velez, Willa Pelini, and Rob Rubba, organized a bake sale in Washington, D.C., called Bakers Against Racism, which aimed to raise money for social justice groups related to Black Lives Matter. Their movement allowed anyone to host a bake sale, anywhere, by providing a framework.

The event spread via social media and included both pastry professionals and home cooks, and raised over $2 million.

Just as supporting Planned Parenthood was about spreading information for Julia, Bakers Against Racism was “an educational opportunity for people to see what their own community was doing and what was happening in their own backyards,” said co-founder Pelini. “It's not just this nebulous idea that Black Lives Matter; it’s that there are Black lives in my community that matter.”

BAKE SALE MACARONS

BY VACLUSE PHOTO BY HEIDI’S BRIDGE

Modern political bake sales are part of the bigger story of women who have used their kitchens to support progressive movements reflective of their beliefs. “It was always important to Julia that women be able to make their own decisions,” said Hersh. That conviction might not have been captured on television, but those who knew Julia say it defined both her life and career.

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FOOD TANK’S DANIELLE NIERENBERG 2020 JULIA CHILD AWARD RECIPIENT

As a 10-year-old in a tiny Missouri town, population of about 300, Danielle Nierenberg already knew she was an environmentalist. “I remember joining the World Wildlife Fund and Greenpeace,” she said, laughing. “I was a strange little kid.” Whatever seeds were planted helped Danielle grow up to be a leader in the food space. In 2013, she co-founded Food Tank, a think tank with the ambitious goal of changing the global food system. For her work, Danielle last year received the highest honor given by The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts—The Julia Child Award, which comes with a $50,000 grant.

to get cable. When I was 10, I made Julia's roast chicken for my parents’ anniversary. I'm sure I did a terrible job, but they acted like they liked it. And then when I was at Tufts University and living in Cambridge, I worked at this gourmet pizza place called Emma's Pizza. When I was interviewing for the job, they were like, “Sometimes Julia Child calls and you just have to be ready.” She never called, but I was ready.

A-HA MOMENT

I thought I was going to be an environmental lawyer. Then I went to the Peace Corps and decided I didn't want to be a lawyer. I wanted to be connected to food and agriculture.

“During her many years as a global leader steering the conversation— and action—in food systems, Danielle has demonstrated a commitment to helping make the way we eat, cook, and shop for food as sustainable and equitable as possible,” said Foundation Chairman Eric W. Spivey, when announcing the news.

SHINE A LIGHT

My co-founder Bernard Pollack and I had seen so many great projects all over the world, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, and we knew they needed a bit more funding or research or investment—or attention.

We wanted to shine a spotlight on the things that were working and enriching people's lives, helping them not just survive but thrive.

To help build “a global community for safe, healthy, nourished eaters,” Food Tank shares food world news on its site, sends a newsletter to 350,000 subscribers, and hosts events such as the Stop Food Waste virtual symposium this spring and the Resetting The Food System live tour that will bring the group to Santa Barbara this October for a program on building sustainable food system resilience, in partnership with The Julia Child Foundation and Santa Barbara County Food Action Network. We caught up with Danielle to learn a little bit more about her and Food Tank.

2021 MANDATE

It’s highlighting those who've been on the front lines of this pandemic in the food system and getting their stories out there. Those essential workers who eight months ago we were applauding? We need to keep them front and center. It's also continuing to highlight the racial inequity in our food system. A lot of people are only just understanding how inequity has been a tremendous problem.

JULIA CONNECTION

I remember watching Julia reruns on PBS with my parents because that was one of the few channels we got. We were the last people

Visit foodtank.com for more

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POTTER

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WHAT WOULD JULIA DRINK? A SOMM STAR SHARES HER SUGGESTIONS

by Cha McCoy

As an American woman who didn’t know how to cook until she was almost 40, Julia Child was an unlikely candidate for writing a blockbuster book on French cooking. Similarly, as I’m a Black American, born and bred in Harlem to a working class family, it wasn’t a given that I would become a sommelier named to the 40 Under 40 list who would find herself at some of the most incredibly opulent wine events around. Yet, here I am. Being an outsider to the world of wine and food gives perspective and makes you inherently relatable to other “servantless” Americans, as Julia liked to call them, who are equally curious about chasing deliciousness and a good time.

Just like Julia, I am inspired by travel and living as an expat. She fell in love with French wine from her time in Paris and the South of France, and then later in life, when she lived in California, she championed the state’s winemakers from her base in Santa Barbara. For me, I’ve been hypnotized by the wine countries of Italy and Portugal after living in Rome and Lisbon. No matter which country, however, in support of small businesses, I tend to lean toward small to medium wine producers.

Here is my take on a contemporary wine list inspired by the wines Julia mentioned in her classic, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. As a compliment, I’ve included my own Julia-inspired list, wines I would happily share with the icon were she around today.

INSPIRED BY JULIA

TO SHARE WITH JULIA

Marguet Père & Fils Aÿ Grand Cru 2015 Extra Brut— Champagne AIX Rosé 2019—Provence Christian Moreau Chablis 2019—Chablis Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 2015—Burgundy Domaine Marc Roy Gevrey-Chambertin La Justice 2017—Burgundy Château Angélus St. Emilion 2015—Bordeaux Château d'Yquem Sauternes 2001—Sauternes

Faccoli Franciacorta Extra Brut NV—Lombardy, Italy La Fête du Rosé—St. Tropez Statera Celilo Vineyard 2016—Columbia Gorge, Oregon Sequoia Grove Chardonnay Napa Valley 2017—California Filipa Pato Nossa Missão 2016—Bairrada, Portugal Nicolás Catena Zapata 2016—Mendoza, Argentina José Maria da Fonseca Moscatel de Setúbal Alambre 2019— Setúbal, Portugal

CHA PHOTO BY APRIL NICOLE. JULIA IMAGE COURTESY OF SCHLESINGER LIBRARY, RADCLIFFE INSTITUTE, HARVARD UNIVERSITY

WWJD

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CHA PHOTO BY APRIL NICOLE. JULIA IMAGE COURTESY OF SCHLESINGER LIBRARY, RADCLIFFE INSTITUTE, HARVARD UNIVERSITY.

A MEMOIR OF FOOD, WINE, AND RESILIENCE

“Funny, bracing, disturbing, and above all, necessary. Victoria reveals the best and darkest in who we are and how we dine. I couldn’t put it down.”

—BIANCA BOSKER, author of Cork Dork AVAILABLE NOW IN PA P E R BAC K , E B O O K , A N D AUD IO B O OK .

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IMAGE COURTESY OF SCHLESINGER LIBRARY, RADCLIFFE INSTITUTE, HARVARD UNIVERSITY

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Bonjour!

Welcome to Issue

16 photo by Paul Child

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LIGHTS, CAMERA…

Julia!

THE MAKING OF NORA EPHRON’S JULIE & JULIA

by Kerry Diamond

Photos courtesy of Columbia Pictures. JULIE & JULIA © 2009 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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knew this during the production, but Julie & Julia was to be Nora Ephron’s final film. In 2006, the director was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, but chose to keep her diagnosis secret and work despite her illness. She passed away in 2012.

In August of 2003, The New York Times published “A Race To Master The Art Of French Cooking,” an interview with a 30-yearold secretary who had given herself 365 days to make all 524 recipes in Julia Child’s 1961 landmark cookbook. Julie Powell was documenting her adventure, and misadventures, via The Julie/ Julia Project, a “daily Web log,” as the Times called it. With Powell’s one-year deadline fast approaching, the proto-blogger was elated, cranky, and a little broke, having bought a small grocery store’s worth of ingredients, from 60 pounds of butter to many, many bottles of vermouth, as she explained to reporter Amanda Hesser.

Below, we talk to four crew members who contributed to the making of Julie & Julia in very different ways: producers Amy Robinson and Eric Steel, production designer Mark Ricker, and food stylist Susan Spungen.

“BOUGHT IN THE ROOM”

What happened next is part of blogger history. The article made a splash, the “Web log” became a book, and the eventual bestseller was adapted into a major motion picture written and directed by Nora Ephron and starring Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci, and Amy Adams. Streep was nominated for an Academy Award and the film went on to become a beloved foodie film classic. While some movies languish in development hell, Julie & Julia managed to open almost six years to the day Hesser’s article appeared.

Actor-turned-producer Amy Robinson was home one day watching an A&E biography on Julia Child when she was struck by the love story between the culinary star and her husband, Paul Child. “I was thinking, ‘This would make a great movie,’” recalled Robinson.

She mentioned it to a few people who were lukewarm on the idea, so she tucked it in the back of her brain.

A few months later, Robinson read Hesser’s article in the Times.

“Blogs were not big then—I’m not sure I even knew what a blog was—but all of a sudden I had one of those light bulb moments.” She called to inquire about the rights to Powell’s story and learned they had been snatched up by a producer named Eric Steel. Fortunately, Robinson knew Steel and they had friends in common.

Julie & Julia, many reviewers noted, seemed like two movies in one.

Ephron’s screenplay was actually based on two books, Powell’s and the autobiography My Life in France, which Child wrote with her grandnephew Alex Prud’homme. Thanks in part to Streep’s epic portrayal, Julia seemed to leap off the screen, and the film introduced the legend to a new generation that hadn’t grown up watching her on television or cooking from her books.

“I thought, ‘What do I have to lose?’ All somebody can say is no.

So I called Eric and said hi.” She congratulated him on getting the rights and mentioned her idea on how the story of the impassioned blogger and the food icon on the cusp of stardom could be combined. Robinson asked Steel if they could discuss it over lunch. “I said, ‘If you don’t like the idea, no harm, no foul,’ and he said, ‘Sure.’”

The making of the film had many magical moments, from its almost instant greenlight from the studio head of Sony to a cast pajama party in Paris to the elaborate sets built at Silvercup Studios East in Long Island City. Today, however, it’s impossible to watch the film without acknowledging one heartbreaking note. No one 85

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They invited Amy Robinson, then Streep cancelled on her dinner plans and came over, as did Tucci. “Stanley showed up in the pajamas you could imagine that Julia Child’s husband wore, but that you can imagine Stanley wearing as well. Navy blue with piping. Ann was in a big t-shirt, I think I was in sweatpants,” said Steel. “What I remember was sitting on the floor of the hotel room, eating chicken, thinking it was such a relief.”

They joined forces, brought a writer onboard, and set up some pitch meetings in L.A. They knew they had to see Amy Pascal, the high-powered executive who was running Sony Pictures at the time. “Amy really liked food and cookbooks, so we went in and pitched her the idea. She said, ‘I love this, I want to do this, and Nora Ephron would be the perfect director.’ So there we were and we were thrilled,” said Amy. “Every now and then you get bought in the room and that’s extraordinary.”

“IT WAS A TREASURE TROVE”

“FLOAT INTO JULIA”

Today, Mark Ricker is an in-demand production designer (he was nominated for an Academy Award for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom shortly after this interview), but he was less well known when Nora Ephron called him to her apartment and offered him a job, on the spot. “I was shocked. I didn’t have the resume then that I do now,” he said. “But I should note, Nora was famous for firing production designers.”

“At the end of the day, we had a deal,” remembered producer Eric Steel. “It was completely surreal.”

Ephron, who was finishing up production on the Nicole Kidman film Bewitched, was interested but not immediately available. “And then there was a lot of waiting for Meryl, who was doing Mamma Mia,” said Steel. “It felt like a long time in the oven.”

Ricker didn’t have time to worry. He had more than half a dozen kitchens to reconstruct at Silvercup East, from Julia’s first Paris kitchen to Le Cordon Bleu’s kitchen classroom, Julie Powell’s Queens apartment kitchen, and the Cambridge kitchen as housed at the Smithsonian. “Whenever I start any job, you’ve got the whole thing in front of you and you don’t know what the journey’s going to be,” he said. “I was so excited about the prospect of it. It was more than my brain could even comprehend at the time.”

But the wait was worth it. “I remember when we did the table read and Meryl voiced Julia. But it was a very different thing when she inhabited Julia. It’s still in my mind how she seemed to float into Julia,” he said. “It was impossible not to be hypnotized, not only by Meryl, but also the chemistry between Meryl and Stanley.”

The two co-stars factored into one of Steel’s favorite days during the production. The shoot had moved on to Paris and local officials were constantly wanting to “do something nice” for the movie stars, which usually involved big, heavy dinners. “I was sitting at breakfast with Ann Roth, the costume designer, and she looked at me and said, ‘I can't eat another one of these dinners, I'm going to die.’ And I said, "Why don't I go to Bon Marché tonight and I'll get roast chicken and potatoes.’ We had just watched that scene where Meryl was in the market. You can barely see it in the background, but there was a rotisserie chicken dripping on the potatoes. Ann was like, ‘Oh this is great. We can sit and eat in our pajamas.’”

He bought copies of Julia’s cookbooks and started reading My Life in France, yellow highlighter in hand. He also made an appointment with the Schlesinger Library at Harvard’s Radcliffe Institute, where Julia’s archives are housed. “I got on the train and went there with the white gloves,” he said. “They brought out the boxes and I took pictures of everything.” He especially loved going through Paul Child’s photos of Julia and their travels: “It was a treasure trove.”

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Then there were the scouting trips in Paris with Ephron and executive producer Don Lee, and jaunts through Paris flea markets for props and furniture. He wandered around the streets of Powell’s neighborhood in Queens, searching for inspiration. “It was one of those rare instances where I knew I had the job, yet we didn’t start immediately so I had this time.”

Today, Ricker has Julia’s cookbooks in his kitchen, near some cutting boards, knives, and copper pots from the set. “I don't think I owned a cookbook at all before, which was one of the ironies of me doing this movie,” he said. Ricker’s kitchen wares are not displayed on a pegboard, despite having to recreate Julia’s famous storage system multiple times for the film. However, his mom has a pegboard in her pantry, as well as a small embroidered piece her son rescued from the film’s Smithsonian set. It reads “Bon Appétit,” Julia’s signature sign-off.

“ON THE DAY”

Today, Open Kitchen cookbook author Susan Spungen is considered one of the top food stylists around, having worked on everything from magazines to TV to movies like Eat Pray Love and It’s Complicated.

But back in the early 2000s, the former Martha Stewart Living editor had never stepped foot on a movie set. That didn’t stop Ephron from calling her, something Spungen still recalls with a bit of shock.

“I remember this conversation like it was yesterday. She's like, ‘Hi, this is Nora Ephron.’ I thought it was my friend Andy doing a voice, you know, because he would do that sometimes just to be funny. And then she was like, ‘I feel bad because…’ She literally said, ‘I felt bad,’ like that book she wrote, I Feel Bad About My Neck.” It turns out that Ephron had emailed Spungen but used the wrong email address.

“And then Nora said, ‘I'm making a movie about Julia Child, are you interested?’ And I was thinking, ‘Are you kidding? Yes, of course!’”

Spungen was a movie newbie, but she understood how to work with a big team and she had learned under the formidable and exacting Martha. Plus, Spungen had actually worked with Julia, on the wedding cake in the cookbook Baking with Julia. “But there was definitely a learning curve. I would say the biggest one was translating a script page to what was going to happen ‘on the day,’ as they say, meaning when you’re actually going to shoot a scene,” she said.

Sometimes she learned the hard way. “I would think, ‘This looks easy.

They’re just sitting around eating poached salmon. It’s just one page.’

I didn’t realize one page was scheduled for an entire day and you’re doing it over and over and over again. And the food has to stay the same the whole time.” Like when she made hot French onion soup with stretchy cheese for Amy Adams take after take. Spungen didn’t use any food styling trickery for the film; everything made was fully edible.

“NORA WOULD ORDER A GIANT PLATTER OF SANDWICHES OR THIS ICE CREAM FROM OHIO THAT SHE LOVES SO MUCH. OR A CRÊPE TRUCK WOULD PULL UP. EVERY DAY.” SUSAN SPUNGEN

The best part of the experience for Spungen was Ephron, whom she remembers as a real food maven who did things differently from other directors. For an early table read, Ephron asked Spungen to make Julia Child dishes to get everyone in the mood, and the food stylist obliged with some “super French food and this unbelievable crêpe thing with Mornay sauce and spinach.” And then there was the food Spungen didn’t make. “Everybody gained so much weight on set. If we were there till midnight, which was often the case, Nora would order a giant platter of sandwiches or this ice cream from Ohio that she loves so much. Or a crêpe truck would pull up. Every day,” gasped Spungen. “This is on top of craft services and the food we were making on set.”

People often ask her if Ephron was tough. “Being a director is a difficult job, but I always answer that she was so nice. There was such a family feeling on that movie. Stanley Tucci was so nice and Meryl was so nice and Nora was so nice and everyone was so nice,” she said.

“There were certainly challenges, like figuring out the dishwashing situation. But I had the time of my life.”

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SUITS LINEN CLOTH DINNER NAPKINS AND JOHN BOOS REVERSIBLE WALNUT CUTTING BOARD, CRATE & BARREL. OTHER PROPS THROUGHOUT, STYLIST’S OWN.

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Classic Julia BELOVED RECIPES FROM MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING photos & food styling by Diana Yen photo assistance by Debbie Yen

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QUICHE LORRAINE For 4 to 6 servings

“I

found it really freeing making these recipes,” says Diana Yen, the culinary creative who cooked, baked, styled, and photographed six well-known Julia creations for this portfolio.

As a recipe developer, Diana couldn’t help but compare Julia’s work from 1961’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking to the popular books and dishes of today, and she came away with a fresh understanding of Julia’s approach.

“I think Julia wanted people to understand basic techniques and be able to build on top of that,” said Diana, the author of A Simple Feast cookbook. “She wasn’t being too chef-y, where you have to find this one ingredient or the recipe is going to be a disaster.”

The assignment also gave Diana a renewed appreciation for a few things. “I forgot how much I love clafouti,” she said of the cherry dessert. “The way Julia’s written it, it’s a perfect recipe.” Julia’s Roast Chicken, basted and buttery, was an interesting change from the recipe Diana usually makes, the cult classic Zuni Café chicken, which is drybrined. And the pastry dough recipe for both the Quiche Lorraine and the Pissaladière Niçoise featured a throwback ingredient Diana hadn’t used before: shortening, the solid vegetable-based fat. “I never made pie dough with shortening, but it was the smoothest dough ever. It was like Play-Doh,” said Diana.

“I could see why people loved using it.”

All recipes excerpted from MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING: Volume One Fortieth Anniversary Edition by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck. Copyright © 1961, 1983, 2001 by Alfred A. Knopf. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

The classic quiche Lorraine contains heavy cream, eggs, and bacon, no cheese. The bacon is usually blanched in simmering water to remove its smoky, salty taste, but this step is optional. Diced, cooked ham, sautéed briefly in butter, may replace the bacon.

3 to 4 ounces lean bacon (6 to 8 slices, medium thickness) 1 quart water An 8-inch partially cooked pastry shell placed on a baking sheet* 3 eggs or 2 eggs and 2 yolks 1½ to 2 cups whipping cream or half cream and half milk ½ teaspoon salt Pinch of pepper Pinch of nutmeg 1 to 2 tablespoons butter cut into pea-sized dots

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut bacon into pieces about an inch long and ¼ inch wide. Simmer for 5 minutes in the water. Rinse in cold water. Dry on paper towels. Brown lightly in a skillet. Press bacon pieces into bottom of pastry shell.

Beat the eggs, cream or cream and milk, and seasonings in a mixing bowl until blended. Check seasonings. Pour into pastry shell and distribute the butter pieces on top.

Set in upper third of preheated oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until quiche has puffed and browned. Slide quiche onto a hot platter and serve.

QUICHES Quiche Lorraine, although it seems to be the most well known, is only one of a series of generally simple-to-make and appetizing entrées. A quiche is a mixture of cream and bacon, such as the quiche Lorraine, or cheese and milk, or tomatoes and onions, or crab, or anything else which is combined with eggs, poured into a pastry shell, and baked in the oven until it puffs and browns. It is practically foolproof, and you can invent your own combinations.

Serve it with a salad, hot French bread, and a cold white wine; follow it with fruit, and you have a perfect lunch or supper menu. Or let it be the first course of your dinner. You can also make tiny quiches for hot hors d’oeuvres.

The following recipes are all designed for pastry shells 8 inches in diameter.

The quiche ingredients should fill the shell by no more than three fourths to allow room for puffing. An 8-inch shell will hold about 2½ cups of filling and serves 4 to 6 people. A 10-inch shell, serving 6 to 8, will hold one and a half times this amount of filling or slightly more.

The partially cooked shell may be baked hours ahead of time, and the filling prepared and refrigerated in its mixing bowl. Half an hour before serving, the filling is poured into the shell and the quiche is set in a 375-degree oven. In 25 to 30 minutes it will have puffed and the top browned. A knife plunged into the center should come out clean, and the quiche is ready to serve. It will stay puffed for about 10 minutes in the turned-off hot oven with the door ajar.

As it cools, it sinks down. It may be reheated, but will not puff again. A cold quiche makes a good snack and is easy to take along on a picnic.

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PISSALADIÈRE NIÇOISE For 4 to 6 servings

This is not a quiche, properly speaking, because it contains no eggs. In Nice it is made either in a pastry shell or on a flat round of bread dough like the Italian pizza.

2 pounds minced onions 4 tablespoons olive oil 1 medium herb bouquet: 4 parsley sprigs, ¼ teaspoon thyme, and ½ bay leaf tied in washed cheesecloth 2 cloves unpeeled garlic ½ teaspoon salt 1 pinch of powdered cloves ⅛ teaspoon pepper

Cook the onions very slowly in the olive oil with the herb bouquet, garlic, and salt for about 1 hour, or until very tender. Discard herb bouquet and garlic. Stir in cloves and pepper, and taste carefully for seasoning.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

An 8-inch partially cooked pastry shell on a baking sheet* 8 canned anchovy filets 16 pitted black olives (the dry Mediterranean type) 1 tablespoon olive oil

Spread the onions in the pastry shell. Arrange anchovy filets over it in a fan-shaped design.

Place the olives at decorative intervals. Drizzle on the oil. Bake in upper third of the preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until bubbling hot.

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PÂTE BRISÉE

A good French pastry crust is tender, crunchy, and buttery. The best one, pâte brisée fine, is made in the proportions, according to weight, of 5 parts flour to 4 parts butter. American all-purpose, hard-wheat flour produces a slightly brittle crust if only butter is used. However, a mixture of 3 parts butter and 1 part vegetable shortening will give a tender crust with a good buttery flavor. Unlike standard American methods, the French system calls for a fraisage at the end of the operation, which is a short pushing out of the dough with the heel of the hand to insure an even blending of fat and flour.

SHORT PASTE IN THE FOOD PROCESSOR The preceding proportions are right for machines with a 2-quart capacity; a large container would take double the amount. Measure the dry ingredients into the bowl (equipped with the steel blade). Quarter the chilled sticks of butter lengthwise and cut crosswise into ⅜-inch pieces; add to the flour along with the chilled shortening. Flick the machine on and off 4 or 5 times, then measure out a scant half cup of iced water. Turn the machine on and pour it all in at once; immediately flick the machine on and off several times, and the dough should begin to mass on the blade. If not, dribble in a little more water and repeat, repeating again if necessary. Dough is done when it has begun to mass; do not overmix it. Scrape the dough out onto your work surface, and proceed to the fraisage.

Proportions per cup of flour 1 cup all-purpose flour (5 ounces) 3 ounces (¾ stick) butter and 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) vegetable shortening 3 to 4½ tablespoons iced water ½ teaspoon salt ⅛ teaspoon sugar (optional, for color)

THE FRAISAGE—OR FINAL BLENDING (FOR HAND-MADE AND MACHINE DOUGH) Place the dough on a lightly floured pastry board. With the heel of one hand, not the palm which is too warm, rapidly press the pastry by two-spoonful bits down on the board and away from you in a firm, quick smear of about 6 inches. This constitutes the final blending of fat and flour, or fraisage.

Directions for making short paste by hand and in the food processor

With a scraper or spatula, gather the dough again into a mass; knead it briefly into a fairly smooth round ball. Sprinkle it lightly with flour and wrap it in waxed paper. Either place the dough in the freezing compartment of the refrigerator for about 1 hour until it is firm but not congealed, or refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

SHORT PASTE, PASTRY DOUGH, PIE CRUST For 4 to 6 servings

HAND MIXING You must train yourself to work rapidly, particularly if your kitchen is warm, so that the butter will soften as little as possible. Use very quick, light finger movements, and do not linger on the dough at all with the warm palms of your hands. A pastry blender may be used if you wish, but a necessary part of learning how to cook is to get the feel of the dough in your fingers. Il faut mettre la main à la pâte!

2 cups all-purpose flour (scooped and leveled) 1 teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon sugar 6 ounces (1½ sticks) chilled butter cut into ½-inch bits 4 tablespoons chilled shortening

A scant half cup of iced water, plus droplets more as needed

Uncooked pastry dough will keep for 2 to 3 days under refrigeration, or may be frozen for several weeks. Always wrap it airtight in waxed paper and a plastic bag.

ROLLING OUT THE DOUGH Because of its high butter content, roll out the dough as quickly as possible, so that it will not soften and become difficult to handle.

Place the dough on a lightly floured board or marble. If the dough is hard, beat it with the rolling pin to soften it. Then knead it briefly into a fairly flat circle. It should be just malleable enough to roll out without cracking.

Place flour, salt, sugar, butter, and vegetable shortening in a big mixing bowl. Rub the flour and fat together rapidly between the tips of your fingers until the fat is broken into pieces the size of oatmeal flakes. Do not overdo this step as the fat will be blended more thoroughly later.

Lightly flour the top of the dough. Place rolling pin across center and roll the pin back and forth with firm but gentle pressure to start the dough moving. Then, with a firm, even stroke, and always rolling away from you, start just below the center of the dough and roll to within an inch of the far edge.

Add the water and blend quickly with one hand, fingers held together and slightly cupped, as you rapidly gather the dough into a mass. Sprinkle up to 1 tablespoon more water by droplets over any unmassed remains and add them to the main body of the dough.

Then press the dough firmly into a roughly shaped ball. It should just hold together and be pliable, but not sticky. Proceed to the fraisage.

Lift dough and turn it at a slight angle.

Give it another roll. Continue lifting, turning, and rolling, and, as necessary, sprinkle board and top of dough lightly with flour to prevent sticking. Roll it into a circle ⅛ inch thick and about 2 inches larger all around than your pie pan or flan ring. If your circle is uneven, cut off a too-large portion, moisten the edge of the too-small portion with water, press the two pieces of pastry together, and smooth them with your rolling pin.

The dough should be used as soon as it has been rolled out, so that it will not soften.

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MAKING A PASTRY SHELL FLAN RING, FALSE-BOTTOMED CAKE PAN A French tart, quiche, or pie is straight sided and open faced, and stands supported only by its pastry shell. In France the shell is molded in a bottomless metal flan ring that has been set on a baking sheet. When the tart is done, the ring is removed and the tart is slid from the baking sheet to a rack or the serving dish. You can achieve the same effect by molding your pastry in a false- bottomed, straight-sided, cake pan 1 to 1½ inches deep. When the shell is ready for unmolding, the pan is set over a jar and the false bottom frees the shell from the sides of the pan. It is then, with the aid of a long-bladed spatula, slid off its false bottom and onto a rack or the serving dish. You can also make pastry shells using two matching pie pans; once in a while the weight of the filling will force the outward-slanting sides of the shell to collapse, so we are not recommending it.

Partially baked pastry shells are used for quiches and for tarts whose filling cooks in the shell. Fully baked shells are for tarts filled with cooked ingredients that need only a brief reheating, or for fresh fruit tarts that are served cold.

Butter the inside of the mold. If you are using a flan mold, butter the baking sheet also.

Either reverse the dough onto the rolling pin, and unroll it over the mold or fold the dough in half, in half again, then lay it in the mold and unfold it.

Press the dough lightly into the bottom of the cake pan, or onto the baking sheet if you are using a flan ring. Then lift the edges of the dough and work it gently down the inside edges of mold with your fingers, taking in about ⅜ inch of dough all around the circumference. This will make the sides of the pastry shell a little thicker and sturdier.

Trim off excess dough by rolling the pin over the top of the mold.

Then with your thumbs, push the dough ⅛ inch above the edge of the mold, to make an even, rounded rim of dough all around the inside circumference of the mold.

Press a decorative edge around the rim of the pastry with the dull edge of a knife.

Prick bottom of pastry with a fork at ½-inch intervals.

To keep the sides of the pastry shell from collapsing and the bottom from puffing up, either butter the bottom of another mold, weight it with a handful of dry beans, and place it inside the pastry; or line the pastry with buttered, lightweight foil, or buttered brown paper. Press it well against the sides of the pastry, and fill it with dried beans.

The weight of the beans will hold the pastry against the mold during the baking.

Refrigerate if not baked immediately.

For a partially cooked shell: Bake at the middle level of a preheated 400° oven for 8 to 9 minutes until pastry is set. Remove mold or foil and beans. Prick bottom of pastry with a fork to keep it from rising. Return to oven for 2 to 3 minutes more. When the shell is starting to color and just beginning to shrink from sides of mold, remove it from the oven. If it seems to you that the sides of the shell are fragile, or are liable to crack or leak with the weight of the filling to come, do not unmold until your tart or quiche is filled and finally baked.

For a fully cooked shell: Bake 7 to 10 minutes more, or until the shell is very lightly browned.

Unmolding: When the shell is done, unmold it and slip it onto a rack. Circulation of air around it while it cools will prevent it from getting soggy.

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SALADE NIÇOISE For 6 to 8 people

Tuna, anchovies, tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, hard-boiled eggs, and lettuce are the usual elements for this appetizing combination, and you may arrange the salad in any manner you wish. Serve as an hors d'oeuvre or as a main-course summer salad.

3 cups cold, blanched, green beans* 3 or 4 quartered tomatoes 1 cup vinaigrette (French dressing) with herbs** 1 head Boston lettuce, separated, washed, drained, and dried A salad bowl 3 cups cold French potato salad*** 1 cup canned tuna chunks, drained ½ cup pitted black olives, preferably the dry Mediterranean type 2 or 3 hard-boiled eggs, cold, peeled, and quartered 6 to 12 canned anchovy filets, drained 2 to 3 tablespoons minced, fresh green herbs

Just before serving, season the beans and tomatoes with several spoonfuls of vinaigrette. Toss the lettuce leaves in the salad bowl with ¼ cup of vinaigrette, and place the leaves around the edge of the bowl. Arrange the potatoes in the bottom of the bowl. Decorate with the beans and tomatoes, interspersing them with a design of tuna chunks, olives, eggs, and anchovies. Pour the remaining dressing over the salad, sprinkle with herbs, and serve.

*HARICOTS VERTS BLANCHIS Whatever recipe you choose for your beans, always give them a preliminary blanching in a very large kettle of rapidly boiling salted water. Depending on what you plan to do to them later, boil them either until tender or until almost tender, and drain immediately.

This essential step in the French art of bean cookery always produces a fine, fresh, green bean of perfect texture and flavor.

3 pounds green beans, trimmed and washed A large kettle containing at least 7 to 8 quarts of rapidly boiling water 1½ teaspoon salt per quart of water

A handful at a time, drop the beans into the rapidly boiling salted water.

Bring the water back to the boil as quickly as possible, and boil the beans slowly, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes; test the beans frequently after 8 minutes by eating one. A well cooked bean should be tender, but still retain the slightest suggestion of crunchiness. Drain the beans as soon as they are done.

Run cold water over the beans for 3 to 4 minutes. This will stop the cooking immediately and the beans will retain color, taste, and texture. Drain, spread them out on a clean towel, and pat dry. The beans may then be set aside in a colander, or put in a covered bowl in the refrigerator where they will keep perfectly for 24 hours.

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**SAUCE VINAIGRETTE For: salads and simple marinades The basic French dressing of France is a mixture of good wine vinegar, good oil, salt, pepper, fresh green herbs in season, and mustard if you like it. Garlic is employed usually only in southern France. Worcestershire, curry, cheese, and tomato flavorings are not French additions, and sugar is heresy.

The usual proposition of vinegar to oil is one to three, but you should establish your own relationship. Lemon juice or a mixture of lemon and vinegar may be used, and the oil may be a tasteless salad oil, or olive oil. For salads, make the dressing in the empty bowl or a jar, so that all ingredients are well blended and flavored before the salad is mixed with the dressing. And be sure the salad greens are perfectly dry so the dressing will adhere to the leaves. Salad dressings are always best when freshly made; if they stand around for several days they tend to acquire a rancid taste.

For about 1 cup Either beat the vinegar or lemon juice in a bowl with the salt and optional mustard until the salt is dissolved, then beat in the oil by droplets, and season with pepper, or place all ingredients in a screw-top jar and shake vigorously for 30 seconds to blend thoroughly.

1 to 4 tablespoons good wine vinegar or a mixture of vinegar and lemon juice ¼ teaspoon salt Optional: ½ teaspoon dry mustard 12 tablespoons salad oil or olive oil Big pinch of pepper

Stir in the optional herbs and correct seasoning just before dressing the salad.

Optional: 2 to 4 tablespoons minced green herbs, such as parsley, chives, tarragon, basil; or a pinch of dried herbs

***POMMES DE TERRE À L'HUILE French potato salad is prepared while the boiled, sliced potatoes are still warm, as they will absorb the dressing. Be sure to use potatoes which may be boiled and sliced without crumbling.

For about 3 cups 1 pound “boiling” potatoes (4 to 5 medium potatoes) A 3-quart mixing bowl

Scrub the potatoes. Drop them in boiling salted water to cover, and boil until the potatoes are just tender when pierced with a small knife. Drain. As soon as they are cool enough to handle, peel, and cut them into slices about ⅛ inch thick. Place them in the mixing bowl.

2 tablespoons dry white wine, or 1 tablespoon dry white vermouth and 1 tablespoon stock or canned bouillon

Pour the wine or vermouth and stock or bouillon over the warm potato slices and toss very gently. Set aside for a few minutes until the potatoes have absorbed the liquids.

Beat the vinegar or vinegar and lemon juice, mustard, and salt in the small bowl until the salt has dissolved. Then beat in the oil by droplets. Season to taste, and stir in the optional shallots or onions. Pour the dressing over the potatoes and toss gently to blend.

1 tablespoon wine vinegar, or ½ tablespoon vinegar and ½ tablespoon lemon juice ½ teaspoon prepared mustard ⅛ teaspoon salt A small bowl and wire whip 3 tablespoons olive oil or salad oil Pepper Optional: ½ to 1 tablespoon minced shallot or green onions

Serve them while still warm, or chill. Decorate with herbs before serving.

1 to 1½ chopped mixed green herbs or parsley

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POULET RÔTI

For 4 people Estimated roasting time for a 3-pound chicken: 1 hour and 10 to 20 minutes You can always judge the quality of a cook or a restaurant by roast chicken. While it does not require years of training to produce a juicy, brown, buttery, crisp-skinned, heavenly bird, it does entail such a greed for perfection that one is under compulsion to hover over the bird, listen to it, above all see that it is continually basted, and that it is done just to the proper turn. Spit roasting, where the chicken is wrapped in fat and continually rotated, is far less exacting than oven roasting where you must constantly turn and baste.

Small French chickens are frequently roasted without a stuffing. The cavity is seasoned with salt and butter, and the skin rubbed with butter. For oven roasting, it is browned lightly for 10 to 15 minutes at a temperature of 425 degrees, then the temperature is reduced to 350, and the chicken is turned and basted until it is done. A simple, short deglazing sauce is made with stock and the juices in the pan, giving just a scant spoonful for each serving.

VEGETABLE SUGGESTIONS Broiled tomatoes, buttered green beans or peas, and sautéed, roasted, souffléed, or fried potatoes, or potato crépes One of the potato casseroles from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and green peas or beans Stuffed mushrooms, glazed carrots, and glazed onions Ratatouille and sautéed potatoes WINE SUGGESTIONS A light red wine, such as a Bordeaux-Médoc, or a rosé Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

A 3-pound, ready-to-cook roasting or frying chicken ¼ teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons softened butter A shallow roasting pan just large enough to hold the chicken easily To flavor the sauce: a small sliced carrot and onion For basting: a small saucepan containing 2 tablespoons melted butter, 1 tablespoon good cooking oil; a basting brush

Sprinkle the inside of the chicken with the salt, and smear in half the butter. Truss the chicken. Dry it thoroughly, and rub the skin with the rest of the butter.

Place the chicken breast up in the roasting pan. Strew the vegetables around it, and set it on a rack in the middle of the preheated oven. Allow the chicken to brown lightly for 15 minutes, turning it on the left side after 5 minutes, on the right side for the last 5 minutes, and basting it with the butter and oil after each turn. Baste rapidly, so oven does not cool off. Reduce oven to 350 degrees.

Leave the chicken on its side, and baste every 8 to 10 minutes, using the fat in the roasting pan when the butter and oil are exhausted. Regulate oven heat so chicken is making cooking noises, but fat is not burning.

¼ teaspoon salt

Halfway through estimated roasting time, salt the chicken and turn it on its other side. Continue basting.

¼ teaspoon salt

Fifteen minutes before end of estimated roasting time, salt again and turn the chicken breast up. Continue basting.

Indications that the chicken is almost done are: a sudden rain of splutters in the oven, a swelling of the breast and slight puff of the skin, the drumstick is tender when pressed and can be moved in its socket. To check further, prick the thickest part of the drumstick with a fork. Its juices should run clear yellow. As a final check, lift the chicken and drain the juices from its vent.

If the last drops are clear yellow, the chicken is definitely done. If not, roast another 5 minutes, and test again.

When done, discard trussing strings and set the chicken on a hot platter. It should sit at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes before being carved, so its juices will retreat back into the tissues.

½ tablespoon minced shallot or green onion 1 cup brown chicken stock, canned chicken broth, or beef bouillon Salt and pepper 1 to 2 tablespoons softened butter

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Remove all but two tablespoons of fat from the pan. Stir in the minced shallot or onion and cook slowly for 1 minute. Add the stock and boil rapidly over high heat, scraping up coagulated roasting juices with a wooden spoon and letting liquid reduce to about ½ cup. Season with salt and pepper. Off heat and just before serving, swirl in the enrichment butter by bits until it has been absorbed. Pour a spoonful of the sauce over the chicken, and send the rest to the table in a sauceboat.

AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE Roast chicken can wait for 20 to 30 minutes in the turned-off hot oven, its door ajar. It cannot be reheated or it loses its fresh and juicy quality.

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BOEUF BOURGUIGNON For 6 people

As is the case with most famous dishes, there are more ways than one to arrive at a good boeuf bourguignon.

Carefully done, and perfectly flavored, it is certainly one of the most delicious beef dishes concocted by man, and can well be the main course for a buffet dinner. Fortunately you can prepare it completely ahead, even a day in advance, and it only gains in flavor when reheated.

VEGETABLE AND WINE SUGGESTIONS Boiled potatoes are traditionally served with this dish.

Buttered noodles or steamed rice may be substituted. If you also wish a green vegetable, buttered peas would be your best choice. Serve with the beef a fairly full-bodied, young red wine, such as Beaujolais, Côtes du Rhône, Bordeaux-St. Émilion, or Burgundy.

LE CREUSET SIGNATURE 5.5-QUART DUTCH OVEN IN FIG, A CRATE & BARREL EXCLUSIVE

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BOEUF BOURGUIGNON A 6-ounce chunk of bacon

Remove rind, and cut bacon into lardons (sticks, ¼ inch thick and 1½ inches long). Simmer rind and bacon for 10 minutes in 1½ quarts of water. Drain and dry.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

A 9- to 10-inch fireproof casserole 3 inches deep 1 tablespoon olive oil or cooking oil A slotted spoon

Sauté the bacon in the oil over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon. Set casserole aside. Reheat until fat is almost smoking before you sauté the beef.

3 pounds lean stewing beef cut into 2-inch cubes

Dry the beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp.

Sauté it, a few pieces at a time, in the hot oil and bacon fat until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the bacon.

1 sliced carrot 1 sliced onion

In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the sautéing fat.

1 teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon pepper 2 tablespoons flour

Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with the salt and pepper. Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly with the flour. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes. Toss the meat and return to oven for 4 minutes more. (This browns the flour and covers the meat with a light crust.) Remove casserole, and turn oven down to 325 degrees.

3 cups of a full-bodied, young red wine such as one of those suggested for serving, or a Chianti 2 to 3 cups brown beef stock or canned beef bouillon 1 tablespoon tomato paste 2 cloves mashed garlic ½ teaspoon thyme A crumbled bay leaf The blanched bacon rind

Stir in the wine, and enough stock or bouillon so that the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs, and bacon rind. Bring to simmer on top of the stove. Then cover the casserole and set in lower third of preheated oven.

Regulate heat so liquid simmers very slowly for 2½ to 3 hours.

The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.

18 to 24 small white onions, brown-braised in stock * 1 pound quartered fresh mushrooms sautéed in butter**

While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms. Set them aside until needed.

When the meat is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan. Wash out the casserole and return the beef and bacon to it. Distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms over the meat.

Skim fat off the sauce. Simmer sauce for a minute or two, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2½ cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly. If too thin, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons of stock or canned bouillon. Taste carefully for seasoning.

Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables.

Recipe may be completed in advance to this point.

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Parsley sprigs

FOR IMMEDIATE SERVING: Cover the casserole and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times. Serve in its casserole, or arrange the stew on a platter surrounded with potatoes, noodles, or rice, and decorated with parsley.

FOR LATER SERVING: When cold, cover and refrigerate. About 15 to 20 minutes before serving, bring to the simmer, cover, and simmer very slowly for 10 minutes, occasionally basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce.

*OIGNONS GLACÉS À BRUN Brown-braised onions are used whenever you wish a brown effect, such as in brown fricassees like coq au vin and boeuf bourguignon, or in a mixture with other vegetables.

For 18 to 24 peeled white onions about 1 inch in diameter: 1½ tablespoons butter 1½ tablespoons oil A 9- to 10-inch enameled skillet

When the butter and oil are bubbling in the skillet, add the onions and sauté over moderate heat for about 10 minutes, rolling the onions so they will brown as evenly as possible. Be careful not to break their skins. You cannot expect to brown them uniformly.

½ cup of brown stock, canned beef bouillon, dry white wine, red wine, or water Salt and pepper to taste A medium herb bouquet: 4 parsley sprigs, ½ bay leaf, and ¼ teaspoon thyme tied in cheesecloth

Braise them as follows: Pour in the liquid, season to taste, and add the herb bouquet. Cover and simmer slowly for 40 to 50 minutes until the onions are perfectly tender but retain their shape, and the liquid has evaporated. Remove herb bouquet.

**CHAMPIGNONS SAUTÉS AU BEURRE Use these mushrooms either as a vegetable alone or in a combination with other vegetables, or as an integral part of such dishes as coq au vin, boeuf bourguignon, poulet en cocotte.

Successfully sautéed mushrooms are lightly browned and exude none of their juice while they are being cooked; to achieve this the mushrooms must be dry, the butter very hot, and the mushrooms must not be crowded in the pan. If you sauté too many at once they steam rather than fry; their juices escape and they do not brown. So if you are preparing a large amount, or if your heat source is feeble, sauté the mushrooms in several batches.

A 10-inch enameled skillet 2 tablespoons butter 1 tablespoon oil ½ pound fresh mushrooms, washed, well dried, left whole if small, sliced or quartered if large

Place the skillet over high heat with the butter and oil. As soon as you see that the butter foam has begun to subside, indicating it is hot enough, add the mushrooms. Toss and shake the pan for 4 to 5 minutes. During their sauté the mushrooms will at first absorb the fat. In 2 to 3 minutes the fat will reappear on their surface, and the mushrooms will begin to brown. As soon as they have browned lightly, remove from heat.

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CLAFOUTI For 6 to 8 people

The clafouti (also spelled with a final "s" in both singular and plural) which is traditional in the Limousin during the cherry season is peasant cooking for family meals, and about as simple a dessert to make as you can imagine: a pancake batter poured over fruit in a fireproof dish, then baked in the oven. It looks like a tart, and is usually eaten warm.

(If you have no electric blender, work the eggs into the flour with a wooden spoon, gradually beat in the liquids, then strain the batter through a fine sieve.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1¼ cups milk ⅓ cup granulated sugar 3 eggs 1 tablespoon vanilla extract ⅛ teaspoon salt ½ cup flour (scooped and leveled) An electric blender

Place the ingredients at left in your blender jar in the order in which they are listed. Cover and blend at top speed for 1 minute.

A 7- to 8-cup lightly buttered, fireproof baking dish or pyrex pie plate about 1½ inches deep 3 cups pitted black cherries Use fresh, black, sweet cherries in season. Otherwise use drained, canned, pitted Bing cherries, or frozen sweet cherries, thawed and drained. ⅓ cup granulated sugar

Pour a ¼-inch layer of batter in the baking dish or pie plate. Set over moderate heat for a minute or two until a film of batter has set in the bottom of the dish. Remove from heat. Spread the cherries over the batter and sprinkle on the sugar. Pour on the rest of the batter and smooth the surface with the back of a spoon.

Powdered sugar in a shaker

Place in middle position of preheated oven and bake for about an hour. The clafouti is done when it has puffed and browned, and a needle or knife plunged into its center comes out clean.

Sprinkle top of clafouti with powdered sugar just before bringing it to the table. (The clafouti need not be served hot, but should still be warm. It will sink down slightly as it cools.)

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THE AUTHOR, EXPLORING MARSEILLE

the

MARSEILLE WAY DISCOVERING THE ROBUST ROUX OF THIS SEASIDE TOWN THROUGH ONE OF JULIA’S FAVORITE DISHES, BOUILLABAISSE story by Lauren Paige Richeson

"Marseille’s hot noise was so different from Paris’s cool sophistication. To many of our northern-French friends it was terra incognita: they had never been here, and considered it a rough, rude, “southern” place. But it struck me as a rich broth of vigorous, emotional, uninhibited Life—a veritable “bouillabaisse of a city,” as Paul put it.

—Julia Child, My Life in France

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JULIA AND PAUL IN MARSEILLE. ALL JULIA PHOTOS IN THIS PORTFOLIO BY PAUL CHILD, COURTESY OF SCHLESINGER LIBRARY, RADCLIFFE INSTITUTE, HARVARD UNIVERSITY.

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EXPLORING THE MARKETS AND MARINAS OF MARSEILLE. PHOTOS BY LAUREN PAIGE RICHESON.

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So much has been written about Julia’s life in France, from tales of her picturesque days in Paris to the stories that emanated from her peaceful pegboard kitchen in Provence.

However, one chapter that is often overlooked, but adds a unique and notable flavor to the recipe that is Julia Child, is the story of her short stay in Le Sud.

orange broth as complex, layered, and aromatic as the place from which it hails.

So one early morning, with my poorly written French recipe in hand, I grabbed my basket and hit the sun-soaked streets.

My first stop would be for produce and spices, so I headed to the large street market in the neighborhood of Noailles, known as the belly of Marseille. Turning the corner on the way to Rue du Marché des Capucins, I was immediately immersed in an array of cultures, flavors, sounds, scents, and foods thanks to the vendors from various countries, from Morocco to Turkey and beyond. The hot noise of Noailles was a wonder for the senses and a true reflection of the ingredients that make the roux that is Marseille so robust.

In 1953, Julia’s husband Paul was named U.S. Public Affairs Officer of France, requiring the couple relocate from Paris to the entirely different world of Marseille. Julia embraced the change and used their time there for “piscatory research” to learn more about the dish many consider one of the essentials of French cuisine.

Fast forward to me in my kitchen. A self-taught home chef with an appetite for adventure and a taste for the unknown, I relished the idea of finding inspiration in a new situation.

I had spent years teaching myself Julia’s recipes, mastering the flavors but butchering the names with my terrible French. It was time to take things to the next level, so I embarked on a journey to follow in Julia’s food footsteps, unaware they would lead me along a path more delicious than I ever thought possible.

In Paris, I wore myself and my shoes down looking for her favorite restaurants and shops, trying to channel the passion she felt in those Parisian streets. However, the most connected I felt to Julia was when I arrived in Marseille. There was an energy there, from the bustling streets lined with bouchers and boulangeries to the distinct blue sky that mirrors the hue of the sea, unlike any other place in France.

I squeezed my way through the crowded streets, picking up ingredients from different purveyors. A handful of tomatoes from one monsieur, onions and leeks from another, then garlic, parsley, thyme, and fennel from a mademoiselle with sprigs of rosemary in her hair. Searching for saffron, I entered Saladin, a magical shop filled with every spice you can imagine, every corner teeming with salts and seasonings.

THE MOST CONNECTED I FELT TO JULIA WAS WHEN I ARRIVED IN MARSEILLE.

My basket brimming with botanicals, I made my way down La Canebière to Vieux Port to pick up the key ingredients for the recipe. I imagined myself as Julia in the scenes from the bouillabaisse episode of The French Chef, in awe of the chalutiers filling the harbor and the fluidity of the pêcheurs bringing their wares from the water.

Like all great dishes, this soupe de poisson shines best with what’s fresh and in season, so I allowed that to direct my quest. After minutes of just staring at the displays the local fisherman had set up along the quay, I heard “Mademoiselle?” and noticed a pêcheuse looking my way, her hair a metallic shade of grey that glistened like scales under the sun.

While it’s the biggest city on France’s Southern coast, parts of Marseille still give off a small Riviera village vibe. Plenty has changed since Julia’s arrival 68 years ago, but walking the streets of Marseille can feel like a journey back in time.

When I arrived in Marseille in March of last year, looking to plant my expat roots close to the sea, I, too, was enamored and a bit overcome by the city’s energy and intensity. I was determined to take it all in, but in a town so large, it was hard to decide where to begin. I sat in my flat in the part of town known as Vieux Port, mere steps from where Julia had stayed, and I wondered, “What would Julia do?” And, of course, the answer came to me: She would cook.

I walked toward her table as we exchanged greetings and warm smiles. She asked how she could help and in my minimal French, I managed to say, “Du poisson pour la bouillabaisse?” She smiled wider, perhaps amused by my accent or my request, and began pointing at different fish, explaining each type, although I am still unsure to this day what some of them were. She disappeared for a moment, only to return with a few things I did recognize: mussels and a fairly large octopus. In a final show of Southern hospitality, she cleaned and scaled the fish, placing the heads and trimmings in a separate bag, then held it up and exclaimed, “Pour bouillon, très important!” I could tell she was as excited to sell me these ingredients as I was to buy them.

Every city has a dish that embodies its spirit and culture. Ask any local and they will say to really get a taste of Marseille, you need a big bowl of bouillabaisse. At the heart of this stew—and the city—is its most prominent product, poisson.

The large port leading out into the deep blue Mediterranean makes it a prime location for indulging in les fruits de mer.

Created by local fishermen, bouillabaisse was a way to make use of the fish they were unable to sell. Today, the dish features a variety of seafood seasoned with leeks, fennel, tomatoes, and saffron, all contributing to a rich and creamy

Arriving back home, still buzzing from the day, I was ready to break out the bright vegetables, vibrant spices, and fresh fish and begin my bouillabaisse. I opened my windows to let in the warm Marseillaise air, grabbed my copy of The French Chef Cookbook, and tied back my hair.

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IN BLOOM. AUTHOR LAUREN PAIGE RICHESON AND JULIA, DECADES APART, SOAKING UP THE SOUTH OF FRANCE.

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THE VIEW FROM JULIA AND PAUL’S APARTMENT IN MARSEILLE

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BOUILLABAISSE

FROM JULIA CHILD’S MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING For 6 to 8 people You can make as dramatic a production as you want out of a bouillabaisse, but remember it originated as a simple, Mediterranean fisherman's soup, made from the day's catch or its unsalable leftovers, and flavored with the typical condiments of the region—olive oil, garlic, leeks or onions, tomatoes, and herbs. The fish are rapidly boiled in an aromatic broth and are removed to a platter; the broth is served in a tureen. Each guest helps himself to both and eats them together in a big soup plate. If you wish to serve wine, choose a rosé, or a light, strong, young red such as a Côtes de Provence or Beaujolais, or a strong, dry, white wine from the Côtes de Provence, or a Riesling.

Ideally you should pick six or more varieties of fresh fish, which is why a bouillabaisse is at its best when made for at least six people. Some of the fish should be firm-fleshed and gelatinous like halibut, eel, and winter flounder, and some tender and flaky like hake, baby cod, small pollock, and lemon sole. Shellfish are neither necessary nor particularly typical, but they always add glamor and color if you wish to include them.

The fish, except for live lobsters and crabs, may be cleaned, sliced, and refrigerated several hours before the final cooking. The soup base may be boiled and strained. The actual cooking of the fish in the soup will take only about 20 minutes, and then the dish should be served immediately.

A soup kettle 1 cup minced onions ¾ cup of minced leek, or ½ cup more onions ½ cup olive oil

Cook the onions and leeks slowly in olive oil for 5 minutes or until almost tender but not browned.

4 cloves mashed garlic 1 pound of ripe, red tomatoes roughly chopped, or 1½ cups drained canned tomatoes or ¼ cup tomato paste

Stir in the garlic and tomatoes. Raise heat to moderate and cook 5 minutes more.

2½ quarts water 6 parsley sprigs 1 bay leaf ½ teaspoon thyme or basil ⅛ teaspoon fennel 2 big pinches of saffron A 2-inch piece or ½ teaspoon dried orange peel ⅛ teaspoon pepper 1 tablespoon salt (none if clam juice is used) 3 to 4 pounds lean fish, fish heads, bones, and trimmings, shellfish remains, or frozen fish. Or, 1 quart clam juice, 1½ quarts of water, and no salt

Add the water, herbs, seasonings, and fish to the kettle and cook uncovered at a moderate boil for 30 to 40 minutes. Strain, pressing juices out of ingredients. Taste carefully for seasoning and strength. It should be delicious at this point, so it will need no further fussing with later. You should have about 2½ quarts in a high, rather narrow kettle.

6 to 8 pounds assorted lean fish, and shellfish if you wish

A hot platter A soup tureen Rounds of hard-toasted French bread ⅓ cup roughly chopped fresh parsley Optional: A bowl of rouille

Bring the soup to a rapid boil 20 minutes before serving. Add lobsters, crabs, and firm-fleshed fish. Bring quickly back to the boil and boil rapidly for 5 minutes. Add the tender-fleshed fish, the clams, mussels, and scallops. Bring rapidly to the boil again and boil 5 minutes more or until the fish are just tender when pierced with a fork. Do not overcook.

Immediately lift out the fish and arrange on the platter. Correct seasoning, and pour the soup into the tureen over rounds of French bread. Spoon a ladleful of soup over the fish, and sprinkle parsley over both fish and soup. Serve immediately accompanied by the optional rouille.

ROUILLE

(GARLIC, PIMIENTO, AND CHILI PEPPER SAUCE) Makes about 1 cup The following strong sauce is passed separately with fish soup or bouillabaisse: each guest helps themself and stirs it into the soup. ¼ cup chopped red bell pepper simmered for several minutes in salted water and drained, or canned pimiento A small chili pepper boiled until tender, or drops of Tabasco sauce 1 medium potato cooked in the soup 4 cloves mashed garlic 1 teaspoon basil, thyme, or savory

Pound all ingredients in a bowl or mortar for several minutes to form a very smooth, sticky paste.

4 to 6 tablespoons fruity olive oil Salt and pepper

Drop by drop, pound or beat in the olive oil as for making a mayonnaise. Season to taste.

2 or 3 tablespoons hot soup

Just before serving, beat in the hot soup by driblets.

Pour into a sauceboat.

Excerpted from MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING: Volume One, Fortieth Anniversary Edition by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck. Copyright © 1961, 1983, 2001 by Alfred A. Knopf.

Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF ALFRED A. KNOPF

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the

GUIDING LIGHT REMEMBERING JUDITH JONES, THE EDITOR WHO USHERED IN THE GOLDEN AGE OF COOKBOOKS

by Sara B. Franklin

Judith Jones, née Judith Bailey in 1924, was born to a life of privilege in every way but one: she was a girl.

She grew up on Manhattan’s Upper East Side amid a pack of cousins bound by their mothers, the three Hedley sisters, who were all intent on climbing the social ladder. But young Judith had no taste for the trappings of society. From an early age, she felt herself apart, quieter and more observant, longing for a kind of freedom of body and mind that, though she had no frame for it yet, she pursued, feeling as she went.

While a student at Bennington—then considered the most radical women’s college in the nation—Judith began working at Doubleday, first as an intern over her winter breaks, and later as a full-time reader and editor (though she was never credited or paid as such). After three years, bored with the New York publishing world and frustrated by what seemed an unshatterable glass ceiling at Doubleday, Judith negotiated leave from work and set sail for a summer holiday in Italy and France.

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: PICNIC IN HONOR OF EDNA LEWIS’ TASTE OF COUNTRY COOKING. MADHUR JAFFREY’S FIRST BOOK. EDITING SESSION WITH JUDITH. PHOTO BY EVAN JONES. JUDITH’S MEMOIR. ANNE FRANK: THE DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL. CELEBRATING WITH JAMES BEARD AND JULIA. DEBUT BOOKS FROM JOAN NATHAN AND ANNA THOMAS.

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“THERE WAS NOTHING BETTER THAN WHEN SHE WROTE ‘NICE’ ON YOUR MANUSCRIPT.” JOAN NATHAN

Three weeks turned into three years: in a moment of fateful forgetfulness, Judith lost her passport and ticket home, and stayed on in Paris.

criticized with a fine point, and her praise was hard-won. Judith did not mince words, but when she spoke, her authors knew it was earnest. “There was nothing better than when she wrote ‘nice’ on your manuscript,” recalled Joan Nathan, whose award-winning Jewish Cooking in America was commissioned and edited by Judith.

There, she cooked for an underground supper club in a friend’s lavish apartment; met Richard Evan Jones, whom she went on to marry; and pulled the diary of a dark-haired girl with beguiling eyes, Anne Frank, from the reject pile at work.

Judith took her role in shaping cookbooks seriously. Anna Thomas, who described herself as an “unwashed newbie” when she sold what became The Vegetarian Epicure to Knopf in 1970, remembers Judith as both uncommonly sensitive and effective as an editor. “She was straightforward and clear in terms of what needed to be done, but also always very encouraging. And I realize now, diplomatic.”

Back in New York, after many failed attempts at starting both a career and a family, Judith landed a job at Alfred A. Knopf, as assistant editor to Blanche Knopf, the house’s co-founder.

For two years, she worked on translations of Sartre and Camus, edited Elizabeth Bowen and John Hersey, and acquired Sylvia Plath’s The Colossus. Meanwhile, she swallowed her humiliation at regularly being mistaken for a secretary—she was, then, the only woman editor besides Blanche at Knopf. Then one day, a manuscript landed on Judith’s desk that would forever alter the trajectory of her career. It was a cookbook written by American expat Julia Child and her French colleagues, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck. Judith felt, right away, that it could change the game for American home cooks.

Most everyone who worked with Judith shares Anna’s view. “Her relationship to her writers was very important to her,” Italian cooking superstar Lidia Bastianich remembered. Judith often invited authors to her apartment or, later, her place in Vermont, and went to their homes too. Recipes were tested and written, and entire books made, in collaboration. These relationships were invisible to the public eye; indeed, the work of editors always is. But its value was immense. Judith’s authors recognized that her dedication of time and energy, as well as her elbows-deep participation, was rare. For her part, Judith compared the process to being inside a cocoon: together, with an author, she worked in a deep, creative relationship. What emerged was born of mutual respect and intimacy; Judith called it a “sacred trust” between author and editor. “I knew I had a lot to say, [but] she took the time to lead me,” Lidia said. “She really made a writer out of me.”

Knopf made an offer on the book with Judith as its editor. What followed were two years of a complete restructuring of the project.

Judith and Julia poured themselves into the work, finding it invigorating and life-giving. “The book,” Julia wrote Judith while navigating her transatlantic move back to the States, “is more important than anything.” Mastering the Art of French Cooking was published in 1961. Julia went on television two years later, and quickly became a household name.

Judith was, for decades, a queenmaker. Many in food say there will never be another like her, or they pronounce the golden age of cookbooks as over. “I got so spoiled by being with Judith,” recalled Madhur Jaffrey, whose cookbook career was launched when Judith acquired her debut effort, An Invitation to Indian Cooking. “I knew no other editor, this was my first cookbook. I just didn’t know that there could be any other kind of editor.

She read the book. She cooked from it. And she had very clear and firm opinions on how to shape it and how to improve it. She would know the book intimately, just as intimately as I know the book. How rare is that?”

Judith Jones believed others could do for specific cuisines what Julia had done for French food; translate its how-to’s and cultural context for an American audience. She was right. She went on to nurture the likes of Madhur Jaffrey, Claudia Roden, Marion Cunningham, Irene Kuo, Edna Lewis, Marcella Hazan, and Lidia Bastianich. She helped veteran food writers find fresh approaches to their work, too, among them James Beard and M.F.K. Fisher.

She toggled between cookbooks and literature—John Updike and Anne Tyler’s novels, and later, the poetry of Sharon Olds—giving all of her authors the same rigorous editorial treatment.

Times have changed. Cookbooks, then, were shapers of culture; now, they more often reflect it. But Judith Jones’s imprint on the world of food writing is indelible: her legacy is everywhere, even if we can’t see it.

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SMART COOKIE ARTIST AND ACTIVIST JASMINE CHO CELEBRATES CHANGEMAKERS BIG AND SMALL

by Nancy Pappas cookies by Jasmine M. Cho

people who impact society in different ways, from activist George Takei to sound artist Christine Sun Kim, poet Amanda Gorman, and, her most recent subject, the legendary Julia Child.

I used to think activism was handmade signs passionately raised in the air, call-and-response chants reverberating through crowds toward necessary reform. I thought of quiet activism, too, gestural hands captivating crowds, sowing change peacefully and powerfully.

Some of Jasmine’s cookies fit in the palm of your hand while others are large framed works that grace the walls of museums and exhibitions. People are often surprised the works are actually cookies, and Jasmine hopes both the subjects and size spark questions and introspection: What face am I looking at? Why are they important?

These days though, I sometimes think of cookies. While many hit the streets to protest, others make themselves heard through the crisp snap of an eggshell on the side of a bowl, the whir of a standing mixer, and the barely perceptible whoosh of a whisk.

Jasmine M. Cho, a self-described “cookie activist,” is one of those people. Her platform just happens to be sugar cookies topped with hand-drawn illustrations made of icing. These culinary creations shed light on those who have been excluded, stereotyped, and misrepresented, and celebrate those who have made extraordinary contributions.

Her focus on the AAPI community led her to work with the Center for Asian American Media on the PBS documentary Asian Americans. This past December, in tandem with the Heinz History Center, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, her large-scale cookies depicting AAPI cultural leaders were displayed as part of the Smithsonian's “Portraits of Pittsburgh” exhibit.

Based in Pittsburgh, Jasmine has been on a years-long journey marked by creativity, discovery, and the pursuit of social justice.

Some of her first edible portraits featured local community members, such as activist Liana Maneese. Her main cookie work initially focused on Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) trailblazers, and she published the (non-edible) illustrated book Role Models Who Look Like Me: Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders Who Made History. Today, her cookies spotlight an assemblage of

Speaking of the Smithsonian, Jasmine visited the Cambridge kitchen belonging to Julia Child when she toured the famous museum in Washington, D.C. It was an opportunity to reflect on the culinary icon and the humble space from which she reached so many. “Julia embodied this sense of adventure, persistence, perseverance, joy, playfulness, and confidence,” Jasmine said, all qualities worth championing, in real life or in royal icing.

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EDNA LEWIS RED DRESS PHOTO, JOHN T. HILL FOR HOUSE AND GARDEN © CONDÉ NAST.

EDNA LEWIS is not the

JULIA CHILD OF THE SOUTH THESE CULINARY CONTEMPORARIES HAD FEW THINGS IN COMMON. LET’S LOOK AT WHAT SET EDNA APART.

EDNA LEWIS RED DRESS PHOTO, JOHN T. HILL FOR HOUSE AND GARDEN © CONDÉ NAST.

by Abena Anim-Somuah photo illustration by Nancy Pappas Edna Lewis photos by John T. Hill

It’s an undisputed fact that Edna Lewis is the Grande Dame of Southern Cooking. Through two of her cookbooks, In Pursuit of Flavor and The Taste of Country Cooking, Ms. Lewis helped the world appreciate and understand a cuisine rooted in both seasonality and strife, at a time when “Black Southern cooking was disregarded in popular culture,” said Sara B. Franklin, a culinary scholar and editor of an anthology about the late culinary great. As the granddaughter of an emancipated slave who helped create the farming community of Freetown, Virginia, where she was born, Ms. Lewis knew the real history of Southern food and how the famous dishes came to be. To many, she is the face of the cuisine she helped codify.

Yet, despite her significant contributions to what is perhaps the most important American regional cuisine, Ms. Lewis is constantly referred to as the "Julia Child of the South." While this phrase is used to make Ms. Lewis more relatable, it’s a lazy comparison rooted in the racism and misogyny that continue to plague the culinary world to this day.

The two women were both born in the 1910s, only four years apart, yet led completely different lives. Born to wealth and privilege in California, Julia Child was a culinary pioneer who introduced “the servantless American cook,” as she called the audience for her debut cookbook, to the intricate world of French cuisine. Ms. Lewis, meanwhile, left Freetown at the age of 16 and headed north, working as a laundress, a seamstress, and even a Communist newspaper columnist before embarking on a career as a chef. Julia graduated from Smith College then drifted professionally for years before enrolling at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and famously finding her calling.

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Ms. Lewis lived a modest life and worked into her 80s. Julia, as we know, went on to fame and fortune. Why describe a Black trailblazer who toiled quietly in kitchens through the lens of a rich white woman who turned a hobby into an empire? The comparison doesn’t suit either of them, two individuals important in their own right who transformed the cooking world through very different means.

“Although the founders of Freetown have passed away, I am convinced that their ideas do live on for us to learn from, to enlarge upon, and pass on to the following generations,” she wrote in The Taste of Country Cooking. “I hope that this book will be helpful to them but above all, I want to share with everyone who may read a time and place that is so very dear to my heart.”

It is worth considering how the culinary world would be different today if Ms. Lewis were as much of a household name as Julia Child; if, for example, Ms. Lewis’ buttermilk biscuit recipe were as renowned as Julia’s boeuf bourguignon; if millions of copies of both of their books were in circulation; if Julia Child were referred to as the Edna Lewis of anything.

Williams-Mbengue remembered her Aunt Edna writing all her stories and recipes on yellow legal pads, then turning them over to the young Nina to type and edit. “Everything Aunt Edna knew about food she learned from growing up in Freetown,” she recalled. “They didn’t have much, but what they had they made the most of. She used every opportunity presented to her to honor her family and preserve their stories.”

Let’s take a look at a few other ways in which Ms. Lewis is distinctly herself:

For poet Jahshana Olivierre, the 2020 recipient of The Edna Lewis Foundation scholarship, she appreciates that this history has been rescued from oblivion. “Perhaps it's the nature of a racist society or the ritual of the diaspora to orally record stories that have left Black people with little to look back on,” she said. “Edna Lewis’ effort in remembering and preserving the stories of her community are a constant inspiration in my poetry.”

MS. LEWIS KNEW HER WAY AROUND A PROFESSIONAL KITCHEN In 1949, Edna teamed up with antiques dealer and interior designer Johnny Nicholson to open Café Nicholson in Manhattan. The café became a watering hole for the likes of Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, and Marlene Dietrich, who flocked there for Lewis’ simple Southern dishes. After five years, she parted ways with Nicholson.

In 1988, Peter Aschkenasy convinced Lewis, then in her 70s, to come back North and help transform a restaurant called Gage & Tollner in Downtown Brooklyn. “She worked side by side with chefs on the line, teaching them everything they needed to know,” said Marcy Blum, a well-known event planner and a former co-owner of Gage & Tollner.

HER LEGACY CONTINUES TO TAKE SHAPE Ms. Lewis received plenty of awards in her lifetime. She was the inaugural recipient of both the James Beard Foundation’s Living Legend Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Southern Foodways Alliance. But her posthumous fame grows as the food world looks more deeply at who is celebrated and why.

“It is painful to think about how much Edna Lewis contributed to making Southern cooking palpable and didn’t really receive her due,” said Franklin.

Julia was also famous for her work ethic and worked into her 90s, but despite being known as The French Chef, never worked in a restaurant kitchen.

SHE DIDN’T SEEK THE SPOTLIGHT While both Ms. Lewis and Julia were statuesque and striking, coming in at 6’0” and 6’3” respectively, making them hard to ignore, they had very different personalities. Julia could be the life of the party, with her “Bon Appétit” catchphrase, while anyone who knew Ms. Lewis could attest to how shy she was. “She was a force in the kitchen, but was incredibly meek when she came out to the dining room to receive compliments from patrons,” said Blum. “Ms. Lewis let her meals speak for themself.”

Ms. Lewis was honored with a U.S. Postal Service stamp in 2014, alongside Julia, James Beard, and others. Her classic In Pursuit of Flavor was reissued in 2019 with a foreword by the acclaimed Chef Mashama Bailey, and Franklin’s anthology, Edna Lewis: At The Table with an American Original, was published in 2018 with essays from Cook’s Country editor in chief Toni Tipton-Martin, poet and professor Caroline Randall Williams, and PBS star Chef Vivian Howard. After Ms. Lewis was the subject of a Top Chef challenge, her cookbook sales popped on Amazon.

But that’s not to say she didn’t enjoy being around those she loved.

“Aunt Edna was constantly giggling with those she was close to,” noted her niece, Nina Williams-Mbengue. “Anytime she got together with her sisters, the laughs never ceased.”

While Ms. Lewis never became a media star on the level of a Julia Child, was it her reticent personality, or was it a society that only expected Black women to offer food for consumption, not food for thought?

The Edna Lewis Foundation is also busy keeping her memory alive. The foundation was created by Chef Joe Randall in 2012 with the mission of “honoring and extending the legacy of Edna Lewis by creating opportunities for African Americans in the fields of cooking, agriculture, and storytelling.” Today, the board includes luminaries such as Bailey, writer and filmmaker Lolis Eric Elie, and writer/author Osayi Endolyn.

SHE WAS DEDICATED TO PRESERVING STORIES AND RECIPES Julia Child did not change the course of history for French food. Had she not written a word about the cuisine, its influence would have continued unabated. Ms. Lewis, on the other hand, was committing to the page something that could easily have disappeared—her family’s history, which she told through food.

Unlike Julia, Ms. Lewis’ life has not been immortalized in movies, blogs, biographies, or documentaries. But that’s not to say this won’t happen in the years to come. As the world continues to shine light on Ms. Lewis’ life and legacy, the possibilities of sharing her story are endless. If only she were around to see how much she is appreciated.

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BAKING WITH MS. LEWIS

BELOW, EDNA AND HER SIBLINGS. PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE EDNA LEWIS FOUNDATION.

Throughout this journey of learning more about Ms. Lewis and the incredible but somewhat secluded life she lived, I yearned to spend time with her and get lost in conversation.

In that brief moment of sadness, I realized that she had left a piece of her heart with us, in the meals she made and the cookbooks she wrote.

DAISY LEWIS, EDNA’S MOTHER, 1930S

When I rediscovered my love of baking after a brief hiatus, Ms. Lewis’ Busy Day Cake was a recipe I turned to constantly. Its delectable base can be enjoyed on its own or with some whipped cream, fresh seasonal fruit, compote, or preserves. This dessert is something that can be whipped up quickly on a weeknight after a long day of work or as a fun weekend bake to pass the time.

If you really want to channel Ms. Lewis, ditch the mixer and whip everything by hand. Here’s a version that I’ve updated and adapted slightly. ½ cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature 1⅓ cups granulated sugar 3 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 cups all-purpose flour ¼ teaspoon coarse salt 2 teaspoons baking powder ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg ½ cup buttermilk, at room temperature 1 cup heavy whipping cream 2 cups fresh berries, any variety

WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS. EDNA SEATED AT RIGHT.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter and flour a 9-inch springform pan, or butter and flour a non-springform pan lined with a circle of parchment. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating to incorporate, and scraping down the sides after each addition. Add the vanilla.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg. Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk, starting and ending with flour. Make sure each addition is incorporated before adding next. Don't overmix.

Spread the batter in the prepared pan, smoothing the top. Bake until the top is golden and the tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. While the cake is cooling, beat the cream until soft peaks form (you can add sugar if you want, or leave it unsugared as a counterpoint to the cake and fruit). Serve the cake sliced with whipped cream and a generous helping of berries.

EDNA AND NINA WILLIAMS-MBENGUE, 1959, IN HARLEM EDNA AND HER SISTER NAOMI LEWIS WILLIAMS AT EDNA’S 80TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

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JULIA WITH TANYA HOLLAND, AT CENTER

CLAUDETTE ZEPEDA

PAOLA VELEZ PHOTO BY JENNIFER LIVINGSTON

JULIA WITH GRACE YOUNG AND HER MOTHER

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people who

Love to Eat are always the Best People WOMEN OF COLOR ON THE COMPLICATED AND ENDURING APPEAL OF JULIA CHILD

by Pooja Makhijani

My immigrant mother has always loved food television, and Julia Child has, for as long as I can remember, been her lodestar. My mother arrived in the United States in 1977, a new bride from India, and fell in love with PBS, one of a handful of channels available to her at the time. Child, the world’s most recognizable “French” chef, showed my mother—an Indian woman, barely an adult, married to a man she hardly knew, unskilled in the kitchen—how to be: authentic, true, passionate. Throughout my child- and young adulthood—Julia & Jacques Cooking at Home, my mother’s favorite, premiered just as I was graduating from college—Child was a constant presence in our home.

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THE AUTHOR WITH HER MOTHER

My mother’s story is not unique, I’ve learned. Sailaja Joshi, my friend and Child-fanatic, watched the doyenne of food television with her parents on WGBH, PBS’ Boston affiliate, every Saturday.

“My parents loved her, my mom especially, despite the fact she never has made—or will make—a Julia Child dish; it was her authenticity, candor, and deep love of food that resonated,” she said. Joshi and her mother imagined what it might be like to feed Child idli and dosa; they agreed that Child would eat the South Indian staples with gusto. Years later, while carrying her second child, lifelong vegetarian Joshi craved meat; she turned to Child’s own butcher, Savenor's in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Child’s recipe for boeuf bourguignon. “I went to the butcher, and proudly said, ‘I’m making boeuf bourguignon!’ and then I had to ask which cut of meat to buy,” Joshi said.

Paola Velez, executive pastry chef at Maydan, Compass Rose, and La Bodega Bakery in Washington D.C., and co-founder of Bakers Against Racism, a global bake sale benefitting the Black Lives Matter movement, acknowledged that Child’s era was marked with controversy, discomfort, and erasure. “I understand things could have been better back then,” she said. “But her life story helped me when I didn’t know what I was feeling, and provided a segue into a career path that ultimately gave me everything that I have now.”

Velez, a James Beard Rising Star Pastry Chef nominee and Esquire's Pastry Chef of the Year in 2020, was inspired to attend Le Cordon Bleu culinary school after watching Julie & Julia and understands how representation takes on many forms. “If Julia Child can be the first woman to do [certain things], then I can be the first Dominican American,” said Velez. “Now, kids can see me and be like, ‘I can be a chef from the Bronx and Dominican.’” As a young person, Velez had no role models who looked like her, she said, yet Child’s height and boisterous personality resonated. “She took life and made it what she wanted it to be,” she said.

Why does Child, who represented an aspirational, white, middleclass, post-war feminized domesticity, have such enduring appeal for so many women of color, I wondered. When The French Chef premiered on WGBH on Feb. 2, 1963, the United States was in the midst of a tumultuous and profoundly transformative decade. The Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964, hastening the end of Jim Crow and serving as a blueprint and inspiration for many other groups of Americans seeking equality. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 ceased a racist immigration-admissions policy and opened the proverbial doors to millions of immigrants from Asia, Africa, and elsewhere—including my mother.

Tanya Holland, executive chef and owner of Brown Sugar Kitchen in Oakland, California, was drawn to Child’s ambition. “As a woman coming up in the industry, she was the most accomplished female culinary figure you could think of,” she said. “I aspired to be one of the best, and I found that connection to her.” Holland, a selfproclaimed Francophile, attended École de Cuisine La Varenne, which was founded by British-American food writer and cooking teacher Anne Willan. When Holland was at the school in Burgundy, her path intersected with Child’s for the first time when the icon made a surprise visit. (She met Child a second time as a professional.)

“She was accessible, gracious, and kind, and that was impressive, given what a big name she was.”

“[Child’s] exhortations for the intellectual and artistic pleasures of cooking were broadcast simultaneously with the rise of women’s lib,”—and a rapidly changing country—“a dissonance with which the show never directly engaged,” wrote Helen Rosner in The New Yorker, adding that “after the wild success of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Child cultivated an apolitical mien.” Later, when Child expressed progressive opinions about Planned Parenthood or the Republican party, she was still “constrained to the standards of the era for a wealthy, white woman,” noted Rosner.

Holland remarked that Child was rarely seen in a chef’s coat. “I’m returning to that, just wearing an apron, looking more feminine in the kitchen,” she said. “As an African American woman, the women 126

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in my family have always cooked, and I gravitated to [Child] over some other male TV chefs. Julia was very unpretentious, and that humility goes a long way.”

Award-winning cookbook author Grace Young also encountered Child on several occasions. When she was a teenager, she met Julia and Paul at a department store book signing; Young recalls that she was the only child in line, and the only Asian. In 2000, a few months after Young’s debut cookbook, The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen, was published, the American Institute of Wine & Food, which Child co-founded, held a Lunar New Year dinner in San Francisco. “I was asked to be the keynote, and to my shock, Julia was the honorary guest and they couldn’t figure who to seat her next to,” Young said. “They seated her between my mother and me.” In Young’s speech, she thanked Child for being the reason she was a cookbook author. “Like Julia had done for French cooking, I wanted to demystify Chinese cooking.”

Child exuberantly participated in the traditional Chinese meal, to Young’s surprise, and at the end of that evening, Child gave Young a deposit slip with her phone number. After The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen was nominated for an IACP award, Child sent Young a postcard, saying, “I hope you win.”

“JULIA MADE YOU FEEL IT WAS OKAY TO LOVE FOOD SO MUCH, AND IF YOU MADE A MISTAKE, IT DIDN’T MATTER.”

When Young’s book won Best International Cookbook later that year, Child was in attendance. “It came full circle,” Young said.

And although Young now has her own legacy and admirers, she credits Child again and again. “Julia is a very dear part of my life,” she said. “Her photograph sits in my office, so I see her every day.

Julia put me on my path.”

Claudette Zepeda grew up in Tijuana, Mexico, and also remembers watching Child on television; the culinary legend taught Zepeda about food and recipes, but also helped her and her family improve their English. “I remember being entranced by the cadence of her voice as a child,” said the executive chef of the recently-opened Alila Marea Beach Resort Encinitas in San Diego—the city where Zepeda was born. “She had this ease about her, and subconsciously these things stuck,” she said. “Julia made you feel it was okay to love food so much, and if you made a mistake, it didn’t matter. She said, ‘People who love to eat are always the best people.’ And that is me and my ethos.” Zepeda tries to embody Child’s sensibilities, especially when she meets people who take themselves or food too seriously. “I’m trying to break down borders and lines and boxes that people want to put us in,” Zepeda said.

CHEF CLAUDETTE ZEPEDA

I’ve told you my mother’s story and the stories of many other women more notable than her, but not mine. I re-discovered Child in 2016, shortly after I had separated from my then-husband and returned to live with my parents in their New Jersey home.

Time in the kitchen became a distraction and a balm from the tumult and trauma of the separation and subsequent divorce, and Child became a mood, a place, a time, a guiding voice. I was searching for joy and purpose after my marriage disintegrated, and I found inspiration in Child. She famously said, “I was 32 when I started cooking; up until then, I just ate.” (I was 38.) Child was approaching middle age when she moved to Paris with her beloved husband, fell in love with French cuisine, and enrolled in culinary school. She was 49 when she published Mastering the Art of French Cooking—the compendium co-authored with Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle—and 51 when she made her television debut. I don’t know if I will ever have a book or a television show to my name, and I doubt I will become a gastronomic icon, but Child’s second act serves as a touchstone for my own. When anyone asks about my love of food or food writing, I now say, “It was all because of Julia.”

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Photo courtesy of Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University 128

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MY JULIA SECRET THE PBS STAR AND THIS WILL MAKE IT TASTE GOOD AUTHOR SHARES HER TRUTH ABOUT THE FRENCH CHEF

by Vivian Howard contact sheet by Paul Child

I cower when I say it, but until about two years ago, I had never watched a single episode of Julia Child’s The French Chef. As a woman who cooked on PBS for years and whose stand-andstir demeanor has been compared to the legend herself, my Julia ignorance left a bundle of shame where I might have otherwise found pride. But last year, like a lot of us, I actively sniffed out silver linings and I found one peeking out from under the shade cast by my Julia cloud.

different from all the chefs who stood and stirred after her.

Like Rachael, Giada, and Bobby, she cooked a recipe from start to finish. But in the seconds between the sear and the sauté, she talked to the camera like it was a friend, sharing everything she knew on the subject. If she roasted a chicken, she talked about what size and breed of bird was best to roast. Like a teacher whose students’ accomplishments reflect the quality of her job, Julia told us what other types of chickens you might find and what they would be suitable for.

She pointed out the color of the fat, what it meant, and why it was important. She shared the mistakes she had made and what they taught her about the technique. She burned stuff and she made a mess. Best of all, her TV set (AKA her actual kitchen) didn’t always contain the right tool for the job. A pie pan in lieu of a lid, a metal bowl poked with holes to fashion a colander—Julia improvised. She showed us that even in the strict paradigm of French cooking, there are a lot of ways to get to the finish line.

I fell in love with the Food Network when I was in my 20s and it was in its youth. I admired Rachael’s EVOO, her trash bowl, and the fact that every time she cooked it was a race. I cheered as Bobby grilled and Emeril “bammed.” I watched Ina when I was homesick and in need of some warm and fuzzies.

And I wanted so badly to be perky and petite like pasta-eating Giada. I can’t believe I’m admitting this, but unprompted by a job listing, I wrote the network and offered myself up for a role “chopping vegetables or getting things ready for any show necessary.” I had zero kitchen experience, but I was naive. I lived in New York and I loved cooking shows.

I’ll admit that in all my years watching the Food Network’s cast of charismatic chefs, I never made a single recipe I had watched them cook. I gleaned ideas, got hungry, and grew more curious about different cuisines, but nothing I watched prompted me to make a shopping list to do what Giada did.

Truth be told, I haven’t cooked through any of Julia’s recipes either. But my takeaways from The French Chef inform my every day. She didn’t just teach us to stew the beef bourguignon or bake the French bread; she showed us how to get in the kitchen, go to the market, ask questions, slap our chickens around, succeed, fail, make a mess, then clean it up. Julia’s show continues to resonate because it’s not about following recipes, it’s about giving us the knowledge and skills that empower us to become better, more confident cooks.

No doubt someone else already had that job, but I eventually left the advertising world behind and started cooking in restaurants. With that, I fell away from food TV. The hours, the arrogance that sometimes rubs off from professional chefs, the need to escape from knives and recipes—all those things made me watch anything other than people cooking.

Worlds later, when I had run a restaurant for a decade and cooked on TV a bit myself, I was asked to be part of a show celebrating Julia’s legacy. Rather than admit I wasn’t qualified, I took to watching The French Chef like it was my job. Minute one, it was clear that Julia’s approach was

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an

AMERICAN TREASURE HOW THE COUNTRY’S MOST FAMOUS KITCHEN BECAME PART OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION as told to Janet Ozzard 131

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CURATOR PAULA JOHNSON

In 2001, three staffers from the Smithsonianʼs National Museum of American History traveled from Washington, D.C., to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to ask Julia Child if they could acquire some items from her kitchen. Today, the entire kitchen is on display. Curator Paula Johnson tells the tale.

We sat around the table and talked about the Smithsonian. Then we started talking about the objects we could see that were hanging on the pegboards. She had a wonderful story about everything. We realized not only was all the stuff there, but she had this tremendous recall of details. That was when we asked if she would consider donating the entire kitchen. By and large, she wasnʼt sentimental.

She already had a kitchen set up in Santa Barbara, so itʼs not like we were taking her last knives and forks and spoons.

We are not in the practice of acquiring whole rooms. Itʼs a big deal to bring in something that huge. We actually didnʼt know we were going to ask for the entire kitchen when we went to Cambridge.

Like a lot of people, we read in The New York Times that Julia was moving to Santa Barbara. Our whole group got together and talked about it, and Rayna Green, another curator, picked up the phone and called her to see if we could perhaps come talk about her plans for the things in her kitchen.

We spent a couple of days making an inventory, taking pictures, making a spreadsheet. When we went back to D.C., we had what we needed to make the case to our collections committee and administrators that it would be a good idea to collect Julia Child’s kitchen, all 1,200 pieces.

Julia answered her phone that day, and Rayna and Julia had a lovely conversation. Julia invited us to come up whenever we wished— which, of course, was immediately. And as soon as we crossed the threshold into the kitchen, all three of us just felt this sense of “Oh my gosh. The whole thing is the story here,” because of the way she had arranged everything.

Once we had the go-ahead, we had a yen to interview her in the kitchen. We went back to Boston, and her New York film crew came up to videotape it. We arrived early in the morning, and while we were waiting to start we turned on the little TV she had on a rolly cart in her kitchen. We saw the towers falling in New York. It was September 11th.

You could just see time. There were things that were clearly from the 1940s, from the Paris flea markets, and things that were clearly from yesterday. In addition to being this wonderful place that has such resonance for so many people, because three of Juliaʼs television shows were actually filmed in that room, the kitchen represented the last half of the 20th century and cooking.

Julia came down from her office. She had heard what was going on, on the radio. She looked at us and said, “I know it will seem strange to keep doing this project, but we really need to. I think itʼll be good for all of us.” She just took control of the situation. We would pick things off the walls and hand them to her, and she would

PREVIOUS SPREAD: JULIA’S KITCHEN AS INSTALLED IN THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY. OPPOSITE: BLUEFISH PRINT MADE BY PAUL CHILD THAT HUNG ABOVE THE PASTRY PANTRY DOORWAY. CAST IRON CORNSTICK PAN AND COPPER CRÊPE PAN THAT HUNG ON PEGBOARD IN JULIA’S KITCHEN. LÉGION D’HONNEUR AWARD, FRANCE’S HIGHEST HONOR, PRESENTED TO JULIA IN 2000. FRITES SIGN PROP FROM THE FRENCH CHEF TV SERIES. ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF SMITHSONIAN’S NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 132

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look up at the camera and say something marvelous like, “Everybody needs great knives.” She was such a professional. After we got back to D.C., we had two crews go back up to Cambridge to pack everything.

We tried to take some linoleum but it had asbestos in the adhesive, so we took a sample and made a digital pattern that we printed on paper.

There were 55 crates and boxes shipped to Washington.

We hadnʼt figured out where we were going to process this collection.

Luckily there was an empty gallery that had a wall of windows, so we decided to make ourselves into an exhibit. We brought the crates in one by one, and unpacked them in front of the public. This was right after 9/11, and people were not coming to Washington. There was this empty museum, but we were there, and the people who did come were really rewarded. We would go out and talk and hear stories. During these intense conversations with random members of the public we realized what we knew, which is, everybody loved Julia. We heard it time and time and time again, from all kinds of people. We also heard they wanted to see the entire kitchen, to see where Julia put her stuff. That gave us a lot of confidence to not just put a few objects on display as icons. Within a year, in time for her 90th birthday, we had the kitchen reconstructed.

In the first installation there was no “ceiling,” so we had to go inside to dust on a regular basis. Because the floor is made of paper, we have to wear socks. So we got special team socks, little purple socks, and we would walk in and carefully dust everything. In these crocks above the range, which Julia had marked “spoonery,” “forkery,” and “misc. tools,” we were not going to mess up her arrangement. Our commitment, our intention, was for people to see just the way it was when Julia walked out in 2001.

Iʼve known this kitchen for 20 years, and my favorite objects change depending on what Iʼm thinking about. One is the mortar and pestle.

Julia and Paul bought it at a Paris flea market, I think in 1948. And Paul lugged it, I donʼt know how many stories, up to their walk-up in Paris.

It represents that sheʼs in Paris, sheʼs going to the flea market, sheʼs learning to cook. Julia is realizing that, as she said later, “Iʼm a gadget freak,” and sheʼs collecting tools because she wants to do things the right way. Once she adopted the food processor, she didnʼt so much use the mortar and pestle, but she couldnʼt bear to part with it. So it sits on the floor, under the butcher block table.

The big Garland range, whatʼs not to love? It was a used restaurant range she bought in D.C. and shipped to Cambridge. She could have upgraded, but she never wanted to. Julia loved this thing, and it was perfect for her. Once she said, “Iʼll take it to my grave if they can find a hole big enough for the two of us.”

Julia had many wonderful memories in the kitchen from her time abroad with Paul: a German potato ricer that hangs on one of the pegboards; the table itself, and the chairs from Norway; food mills from the Paris flea market. There was a butler’s pantry and an equipment room where she had her blow torches. We have some rolling pins and a big copper stock pot she had in the pastry pantry.

This year is the 20th anniversary of collecting the kitchen. Even if you didn’t get a copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, or make any of those recipes, it doesn’t matter. With Julia’s TV shows, it wasnʼt so much that people were taking notes on how to break down a goose, it’s that they were enjoying the spectacle of this woman doing it, and doing it well. And was it perfect? It didnʼt matter. She was doing this difficult thing, making it educational and entertaining. She was trying to demonstrate that food is important, caring about ingredients and the recipes is important, but having fun is important, too.

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JILL RUSSELL OF CAMBRIA WINES DAISY AND GREG RYAN OF BELL’S

CALIFORNIA DREAMING A LOOK AT HOW THE CULINARY SCENE IN THE SANTA BARBARA REGION HAS EVOLVED SINCE JULIA’S TIME THERE

DAISY AND GREG RYAN PHOTO BY AUBRIE PICK. SHERRY VILLANUEVA PHOTO BY ALI BECK.

MARNI AND DOUG MARGERUM OF MARGERUM WINE COMPANY

SHERRY VILLANUEVA OF ACME HOSPITALITY

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Julia Child was so closely associated with Paris that some folks forget she was a California girl. Her life began in Pasadena and ended peacefully in Montecito in Santa Barbara County, a lush part of the state, not unlike her beloved Provence, where she could enjoy the climate, the farmers’ markets, and the conviviality of those who called it home. The food and beverage scene she came upon was refreshingly low-key and the chefs, restaurateurs, emerging winemakers, and farmers who were part of it were happy to welcome a legend like Julia.

The proximity to nearby farmers is important to the couple as they cherish the relationships they’ve formed with the growers and producers. “Every once in a while, when Greg and I are driving to work, I catch myself looking out the window and think, ‘Damn, we are just so lucky.’”

Bell’s has become a hangout for wine and food pros who live in the area, like Jill Russell of Cambria Wines. “People asked me, ‘Why are you moving to this little town?’ It’s a beautiful food scene and a lot of industry folks have made their homes here,” said the winemaker.

“It’s a great community and there’s this energy that’s happening in the region.” A few of Jill’s favorite places? Full of Life Flatbread for seasonal pizzas, Babi’s Beer Emporium for, you guessed it, beer and cider, Bobʼs Well Bread Bakery for croissants, and Pico at the Los Alamos General Store for outdoor dining.

DAISY AND GREG RYAN PHOTO BY AUBRIE PICK. SHERRY VILLANUEVA PHOTO BY ALI BECK.

Santa Barbara might be making news today as the adopted home of a certain famous couple (hello, Meghan and Harry), but the region is also making waves of a culinary kind, drawing up-and-coming talent like Chef Daisy Ryan of Bell’s in Los Alamos and winemaker Jill Russell of Cambria Wines in Santa Maria. Meanwhile, local places with deep roots are enjoying a resurgence as Los Angeles day trippers seek special experiences outside the city limits. “It’s the sense of space and place and beauty that makes the region so special,” said Kathleen Cochran, a hospitality veteran and general manager of the Alisal Guest Ranch and Resort in Solvang, California.

And then, of course, there’s the famous wine. A California native, Jill worked as a server at a winery in high school and fell in love with the “vineyard scene,” as she called it. She studied winemaking at California Polytechnic State University, aka Cal Poly, in San Luis Obispo, and today has her dream job at Cambria, the winery led by Barbara Banke of Jackson Family Wines. (The vineyards are named for Barbara’s two daughters, Katherine and Julia.) “As we’re in the Santa Maria Valley, weʼre all about chardonnay and pinot noir,” said Jill. For those who want to try Katherine’s Vineyard Chardonnay and Julia’s Vineyard Pinot Noir, or even some of the Clone Pinot Noirs or Signature Collection wines, Cambria Estate is open for tasting by reservation only.

“Santa Barbara is constantly changing and evolving,” added Marni Margerum of Margerum Wine Company and an advisory committee member for the Santa Barbara Culinary Experience, the SBCE. Hosted in conjunction with The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts, the food-and-wine-focused event traditionally takes place over a three-day weekend; however, in 2021, it will comprise a series of three events over the course of the year, both virtual and in-person. Each event will be coupled to week-long communitywide special offerings supporting the region’s hospitality and tourism recovery.

This dovetails with the SBCE’s founding purpose: to celebrate and share all that Julia loved about Santa Barbara’s plentiful culinary, artisanal, and winemaking talent as well as its agricultural bounty.

SHERRY VILLANUEVA

“JULIA LOVED FOOD AND SHE LOVED PEOPLE AND SHE DID BOTH UNABASHEDLY.”

Meanwhile, back in Santa Barbara proper, there is the restaurant empire run by Sherry Villanueva, managing partner and owner of Acme Hospitality and another Santa Barbara Culinary Experience advisory committee member. Sherry was ready for a change after years spent working on worldwide trend research for Target, so she pivoted to hospitality when the opportunity presented itself.

“My passion lies in the connection that people have over food,” said Sherry.

Today, she oversees more than half a dozen establishments, including popular places such as The Lark and La Paloma Café. “I love being in Santa Barbara, and being part of the food community. It’s just an incredible group of people and producers and hospitality professionals.”

While Marni didn’t get to meet Julia, her husband Doug did when he was the proprietor of a Julia favorite, Wine Cask. Julia was a regular for New Year’s Eve dinners and loved the selection of Loire Valley wines. Doug eventually sold the spot and launched Margerum to focus on winemaking. Locals and tourists in love with the regional wine movement can stop by the Margerum tasting room, which Marni designed, and enjoy wine flights on the outdoor patio plus cheese and charcuterie boards, smoked duck salad, cauliflower crust pizza, and other bites from their menu.

As with Chef Daisy, Sherry loves the proximity to amazing farms, ranches, and wineries. “We have access to local products that are truly world renowned,” she said. “Santa Barbara has incredible natural resources.” She points to some of the locally-influenced dishes at three of her establishments: The Santa Maria tri-tip at La Paloma Café, the local seafood paella at Loquita, and the sea bass with seasonal vegetables at The Lark.

For Daisy and Greg Ryan of the buzzy Los Alamos spot Bell’s, opening a restaurant in the region was a homecoming of sorts, as Daisy grew up in the Santa Ynez Valley. When the couple was deciding what cuisine to focus on, they briefly thought about Italian, but realized the area might appreciate something different.

“We started talking about French food,” said Daisy, who studied at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. “I had that base of traditional French cooking and we started thinking about what Thomas Keller did with Bouchon in Yountville.” So bistro food was the answer, but with a twist they called “Franch”— French plus ranch, a nod to the landscape that surrounds them.

Menu highlights include their must-have sea urchin mille crêpe and a classic steak tartare, made with an egg from the local Motley Crew Ranch, and served with fries.

Sherry never got to meet Julia Child during the icon’s Santa Barbara days, but she believes many of Julia’s lessons continue to hold sway over the region. “Julia loved food and she loved people and she did both unabashedly,” said Sherry. “It’s one of the reasons Santa Barbara and her audience from around the world fell in love with her."

For more on the Santa Barbara Culinary Experience, visit sbce.events

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MY JULIA ROAD TRIP EXPLORING THE FOOD SCENE IN HER BELOVED SANTA BARBARA AND BEYOND

by Donna Yen illustrations by Nancy Pappas

Recently, I set off for Santa Barbara County to visit some of Julia Child’s favorite food spots and check out some newer places in the region. Since her time there, a number of new culinary talents have been redefining the food scene, and it's no wonder! These coastal towns where they’re putting down roots are near some of the best produce in the country and the richest sources of seafood around. I have no doubt Julia would be enjoying all of these spots if she were here with us today.

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LA SUPER-RICA TAQUERIA

It’s hard to miss Julia’s favorite Mexican restaurant, between the permanent line out the door and its vivid aquamarine-painted front.

Isidoro González is the owner and you’ll still find him taking orders at the counter. Curious what Julia Child’s go-to order was? I asked Isidoro and he replied, “She ordered one of everything on the menu.”

There are 20 items on their menu, but if you can’t hang like Julia, you won’t go wrong with an order of their Super-Rica especial and their chile con queso. Everything comes with warm homemade tortillas.

SANTA BARBARA FARMERS’ MARKET

If you’ve ever wondered what the fuss over California produce is all about, this is the place to be. Every Saturday, farmers from near and far come to downtown Santa Barbara to sell their diverse seasonal harvests. In winter months, you’ll find citrus varieties you’ve never heard of, from Ojai Pixies to Kishu mandarins. Spring and summer yield zebra heirlooms, bacon avocados, and, of course, California strawberries. Julia would come here to buy her groceries for the week and loved chatting with the local vendors and farmers. Can’t make the Saturday market? Check sbfarmersmarket.org for the other weekly markets in the area.

MCCONNELL’S FINE ICE CREAMS

After visiting the farmers’ market, Julia was known to frequent McConnell’s for its luscious ice cream. Founded in 1949 and known for its flavors inspired by local ingredients, McConnell’s is now on its third generation of family ownership with husband and wife Michael Palmer and Eva Ein leading the charge. My favorite flavor, Eureka Lemon & Marionberries, is a must, but keep an eye out for their limited releases like Santa Barbara Strawberry and Honey Cornbread Cookies.

SANTA BARBARA SHELLFISH COMPANY

This unassuming restaurant on Stearns Wharf serves up seafood in its purest form. From scallop ceviche and abalone to lobster pasta and steamed local crab, you’ll find a little bit of everything—except your typical fish and chips. And if it’s the right season, fresh live uni! What used to be a buying station where Julia would get her shellfish is now an outpost for some of the best seafood in town, and maybe the whole state.

BELL’S

Located in the quaint town of Los Alamos, this French-inspired restaurant is making quite a stir. Greg and Chef Daisy Ryan are serving up French food at its California finest on their breezy outdoor patio.

Everything on their menu is sourced from nearby, like their gem lettuce from Santa Ynez’s Finley Farms and the sea urchin on their mille crêpe caught by renowned local diver Stephanie Mutz. Their food is executed with thought and care, but Bell’s still gives off a chill California vibe. Julia would be proud to see how her beloved French cuisine has been updated for 2021.

LOQUITA

After a sun-filled day at Stearns Wharf, stop by Loquita for amazing cocktails and tasty tapas. Since the climate in Santa Barbara County mirrors that of Spain, the local produce, meats, and seafood are perfect for these dishes. Chef Nikolas Ramirez serves up wonderful Spanish flavors in his croqueta de pollo, tortilla Española, pulpo, and seafood paella. Don’t forget to try one of their house special gin and tonics and some churros for dessert.

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the

REVERSE MARTINI JULIA’S FAVORITE COCKTAIL IS THE PERFECT DRINK FOR NOW art & words by Disco Cubes

If you’re in the mood for a drink that captures all the excitement of a classic martini with just a fraction of the booze, may I present: The Reverse Martini.

Also known as an Upside-Down Martini, this choice drink of Julia Child’s is essentially dry vermouth with a splash of gin—brilliant. Feel free to adjust the proportions to your liking, but be sure to start with a vermouth that you’d happily sip on the rocks, as the French do (i.e. the bottle collecting dust in your fridge will not suffice—and yes, you must keep it in the fridge).

Noilly Prat was Child’s preferred brand and still stands strong as the quintessential French vermouth, but the fortified wine is having a bit of a comeback these days—try Lo-Fi Aperitifs’ version for a fresh take on the classic, and don’t be afraid to have a second round. Santé!

3¾ ounces dry vermouth ¾ ounce dry gin Combine ingredients in a mixing glass over ice, and stir until well-chilled.

Strain into a martini glass, and garnish with an olive or lemon twist.

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GO, FISH! JULIA’S FAVORITE EASY HORS D’OEUVRE, THE GOLDFISH CRACKER

by Mara Papatheodorou illustrations by Nancy Pappas

Flavorful Goldfish crackers first hit my palate at age five thanks to my grandmother serving up a “cute” wholesome snack. I was hooked from my first crunch. My love for them remains, with Julia’s influence swimming alongside each bite.

The Grande Dame of the Kitchen loved her Pepperidge Farm Goldfish crackers, which complemented her cocktail of choice, the reverse martini. If that whimsical smiling nibble worked as an easy hors d’oeuvre for the unpretentious Julia and her guests, then it can work for us all. This delicious fact makes me grin.

Yet I wonder if Julia’s fondness for the fish was enhanced by the respect she must have held for Pepperidge Farm founder Margaret Rudkin, who, like Julia, would only use top quality ingredients in all that she made. Albeit from different eras, both women became food pioneers and culinary icons later in life via curiosity, grit, and resilience.

Perhaps Julia felt they were kindred spirits.

A woman of means whose fortunes changed after the Great Depression, Margaret toiled for years to create a wheat berry flour for her allergy-prone son and sold her first loaf of bread in 1937. As commercial success followed, her intrigue about European baked goods blossomed. While vacationing in Switzerland, Margaret met Oscar J. Kambly, owner of a prestigious biscuit company, and was intrigued by his unique goldfish crackers, designed as a heartfelt birthday gift for his wife, a Pisces. Margaret noted that they were made with ground wheat berry flour, just like her bread. She knew it would be a hit back home and immediately acquired the trademark shape, rights, and recipe. Goldfish crackers made their delectable American debut in 1962, one year after Julia’s landmark cookbook.

Still going strong decades later, Goldfish today are marketed as the “snack that smiles back,” and one free of preservatives or anything artificial. On the food chain of simple snacking, they still reign supreme.

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The New York Times Bestseller

Pie-making genius Lauren Ko reveals the secrets to her mind-blowing creations in this gorgeous full-color cookbook, featuring 50 incredible step-by-step sweet and savory pie and tart designs.

Available wherever books are sold | www.lokokitchen.com/pieometry @lokokitchen

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IMAGE COURTESY OF SCHLESINGER LIBRARY, RADCLIFFE INSTITUTE, HARVARD UNIVERSITY

LAST CALL

PHOTO BY PAUL CHILD

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