Julia Child

Cherry Hill Presbyterian Church has invited me back for the third time to be the speaker at their ladies tea on May 11th.  My first time was Nov. 2016 presenting Queen Elizabeth, II and Nov. 2017 J.L. Hudson Department Store.  This time the theme will be Julia Child in Paris.  

For the presentation I've put together a 'Julia Child outfit.'  Of course, I'll be considerably shorter than she was [5'2"].  She was 6'3" but usually told everyone she was 6'2".  One inch must have seemed significant to her.  ;-)  I won't be able to re-create her voice either, but hopefully the interesting highlights about her life will make up for it.

Julia usually wore a cotton blouse with the logo Paul [her husband] designed for her.  Her PBS cooking show was titled, The French Chef, and began in 1963.  Usually a single strand of pearls accompanied her outfit as well as a long chef's apron with a dish/hand towel draped over the ties.

The logo loosely translates, "The School of Three Happy Eaters", referring to her two friends who taught cooking classes with her in Paris - Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle.

My Julia Child presentations in the past have been from the biography pictured below.

But this time I've going to use a book she authored with Alex Prud'homme - the grandson of Paul's twin brother, Charles Child.  It primarily focuses on Julia's life in France and her pursuit of French cooking.

I have a trip coming up shortly that will require a 5-hour airplane ride, so I'll be taking along the book below to occupy my time in the air going and returning.  Dearie is the name Julie called everyone.

She said her book, French Chef Cookbook, Volume II was a personal meander full of stories, tangents, and comments about her twenty-five years in the kitchen.  It was her most personal book, as well as her most favorite, so I'd love to be able to find a copy of that book.  

I've enjoyed re-watching the DVD, Julie and Julia and it's a lot more meaningful after reading My Life in France.  It's a cute movie with a twinge of sadness that Julie Powell never got to meet Julia Child, because Julia didn't think Julie was truly serious about cooking.

It's incredible that Julia went from a 37-year-old who previously had no interest in the kitchen to one of the most famous chefs in the twentieth century - even though she said she wasn't a chef.  She referred to herself as a teacher and a cook.  What an amazing person to research!