She was not the likeliest person to introduce French cuisine to American homes. Now, housed with the Wright brothers’ airplane, John Glenn’s space capsule, Fort McHenry’s Star Spangled Banner, and Lincoln’s stovepipe hat, you can see Julia’s kitchen, ground zero for a social revolution that remains ongoing.Īnother measure of Julia’s iconic status is that she is played by legendary actress Meryl Streep in the feature film adaptation of her cooking life, Julie & Julia. Should you doubt the last point, in 2001 the Smithsonian Institution was delighted to accept Julia’s donation of the entire kitchen from her Cambridge, Massachusetts, home – her tables, counters, pans, and utensils – where several seasons of her TV cooking shows were made. Two decades later, her passion for good food would initiate a revolution, not only in how Americans eat – in ways well beyond the borders of French cuisine – but in the look and products of supermarkets, even the design of kitchens. It was, you might say, love at first bite. The two were Paul and Julia Child, on their way to Paris for Paul’s job with the State Department, and the food was Julia’s first taste of French cooking. Their repast that day – a green salad, oysters, sole meuniere, bread, cheese, and dry white wine – might be the most consequential meal since the Last Supper. In November 1948, an American couple, newly arrived in France, had lunch in Rouen. Her sense of fun and warm personality inspired millions to take up cooking for pleasure and ignited a revolution in the way Americans eat, from fine restaurants to humble diners. Promoting the book on a Boston TV station quickly led to her own show, television stardom, and wide recognition by just her first name. Hailing from Pasadena, California, Julia Child’s passionate interest in the food of foreign lands led to her groundbreaking 1961 cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
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