Tabel of ContentsArgument1Julia before Becoming Julia Child2Julia Child: author, chef and television personality5Meryl Streep as Julia Child10Nearly 9212Conclusion14Bibliography15

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ArgumentI dont think about whether people will remember me or not. Ive been an okay person. Ive learned a lot. Ive taught people a thing or two. Thats whats important. Julia Child [footnoteRef:2] [2: http://www.pbs.org/food/julia-child/, 2st of May 2014]

With her cookbookMastering the Art of French Cooking(co-authored with Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle) and subsequent public television showThe French Chef, Julia Child not only introduced meatloaf-reliant Americans to the delights of French cuisine but also enlightened a fine-food-fearing nation that cooking should be a craft, not a chore. The hearty wife of an American diplomat, Child honed her culinary skills at Le Cordon Bleu while the couple lived in Paris, breaking down the barrier that up until then had reserved gourmet kitchens for male chefs. For a decade, Child entertained viewers with her casual approach and free spirit, proving that anyone could be a good chef with the "freshest and finest ingredients"[footnoteRef:3] and a good dose of butter. "Our Lady of the Ladle," as TIME dubbed her in 1966, became America's most beloved chef, all the while changing the nation's appetite and attitude toward fine food. [3: Child Julia, Beck Simone,Bertholle Louisette Mastering the Art of French Cooking, pg.5]

Another reason for choosingthis topic is that my favourite actress, Meryl Streep portrayed Julia Child in 2009 film Julie&Julia.For her performance, Streep received anAcademy Award for Best Actressnomination.Besides being Americas most beloved chef, Julia Child is, for me, a real feminist. She was a passionate women with an amazing career, but she somehow managed to have, in parralel, a beautiful marriage. The excentric couple is among my favourites, and Julia as a women and a wife is as much as inspiring to me as a chef. I like this couple is particular due to an aspect: Julia was taller than Paul. I consider that this is another proof of their love, as they did not care about labels and unwritten rules of society.

Julia before Becoming Julia ChildEarly life She was born Julia Carolyn McWilliams inPasadena, California, the daughter of John McWilliams, Jr., aPrinceton Universitygraduate and prominent land manager, and his wife, the former Julia Carolyn ("Caro") Weston, a paper-company heiress whose father,Byron Curtis Weston, served as lieutenant governor ofMassachusetts. The eldest[footnoteRef:4] of three children, she had a brother, John III (19142002), and a sister, Dorothy Dean Cousins (19172006).Child attendedWestridge School,Polytechnic Schoolfrom fourth grade to ninth grade, then theKatherine Branson SchoolinRoss, California, which was at the time a boarding school. At six feet, two inches (1.88 m) tall, Child played tennis, golf, and basketball as a child and continued to play sports while attendingSmith College, from which she graduated in 1934 with a major in English. [4: Noel Riley Fitch, The Biography of Julia Child, pg. 169]

Following her graduation from college, Child moved to New York City, where she worked as acopywriterfor the advertising department of upscale home-furnishing firmW. & J. Sloane.[footnoteRef:5] Returning to California in 1937, she spent the next four years writing for local publications, working in advertising, and volunteering with theJunior Leagueof Pasadena. [5: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Child#Childhood_and_education, 2nd of May 2014 20:47]

World War II- joining the Office of Strategic Services and meeting her husbandChild joined theOffice of Strategic Services(OSS) after finding that she was too tall to enlist in theWomen's Army Corps (WACs)or in the U.S. Navy'sWAVES. She began her OSS career as a typist at its headquarters in Washington, but because of her education and experience soon was given a more responsible position as a top secret researcher working directly for the head of OSS, GeneralWilliam J. Donovan.[footnoteRef:6] [6: Julia Child; Alex ProudHomme My Life in France. Random House. p.85.]

As a research assistant in the Secret Intelligence division, she typed 10,000 names on white note cards to keep track of officers. For a year, she worked as a file clerk and then as an assistant to developers of ashark repellentneeded to ensure that sharks would not explodeordnance targeting GermanU-boats. In 1944 she was posted toKandy, Ceylon (nowSri Lanka), where her responsibilities included "registering, cataloging and channeling a great volume of highly classified communications" for the OSS's clandestine stations in Asia.[footnoteRef:7]She was later posted to China, where she received the Emblem of Meritorious Civilian Service as head of the Registry of the OSS Secretariat.For her service, Child received an award that cited her many virtues, including her "drive and inherent cheerfulness."[footnoteRef:8] [7: Greg Miller; "Files from WWII Office of Strategic Services are secret no more"] [8: Greg Miller; "Files from WWII Office of Strategic Services are secret no more"]

While in Ceylon, she metPaul Cushing Child, also an OSS employee, and the two were married September 1, 1946, in Lumberville, Pennsylvania,[footnoteRef:9] later moving to Washington, D.C. ANew Jerseynativewho had lived in Paris as an artist and poet, Paul was known for his sophisticated palate,and introduced his wife to fine cuisine. He joined theUnited States Foreign Service, and in 1948 the couple moved to Paris when theUS State Departmentassigned Paul there as an exhibits officer with theUnited States Information Agency.[footnoteRef:10]The couple had no children. [9: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Child#Childhood_and_education, 1st of May 2014, 19:47] [10: https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2007-featured-story-archive/julia-child.html1st of May 2014, 19:47]

France: Falling in Love with French CuisineJulia Child repeatedly recalled her first meal inRouenas a culinary revelation; once, she described the meal ofoysters,sole meunire, and fine wine toThe New York Timesas "an opening up of the soul and spirit for me."[footnoteRef:11] In Paris, she attended the famousLe Cordon Bleu[footnoteRef:12]cooking school and later studied privately with Max Bugnard and other master chefs. [11: William Grimes "Books: My Life in France"] [12: https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2007-featured-story-archive/julia-child.html, 1st of May 2014, 20:23]

She joined the women's cooking clubCercle des Gourmettes, through which she metSimone Beck, who was writing a French cookbook for Americans with her friendLouisette Bertholle. Beck proposed that Child work with them, to make the book appeal to Americans. In 1951, Child, Beck, and Bertholle began to teach cooking to American women in Child's Paris kitchen, calling their informal schoolL'cole des trois gourmandes(The School of the Three Food Lovers)[footnoteRef:13]. [13: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Child#Childhood_and_education1st of May 2014, 20:23]

In 1963, the Childs built a home near theProvencetown ofPlascassierin the hills aboveCanneson property belonging to co-author Simone Beck and her husband, Jean Fischbacher. The Childs named it "LaPitchoune", aProvenalword meaning "the little one" but over time the property was often affectionately referred to simply as "La Peetch".[footnoteRef:14] [14: Child, Julia;My Life in France. Random House. pp.268272]

(Julia Child with Master Chef Max Bugnard at the Cordon Bleu Cooking School, Paris. In her kitchen in France, photographed by her husband, Paul. Julia Child and Simone Beck)[footnoteRef:15] [15: http://www.simplystreep.com/content/specials/reallife/juliachild.html, 1st of May 2014, 21:30]

Julia Child: author, chef and television personalityMastering the Art of French CookingThe three would-be authors initially signed a contract with publisherHoughton Mifflin, which later rejected the manuscript for seeming too much like an encyclopedia. Finally, when it was first published in 1961 byAlfred A. Knopf, the 726-pageMastering the Art of French Cookingwas a best-seller and received critical acclaim that derived in part from the American interest in French culture in the early 1960s. Lauded for its helpful illustrations and precise attention to detail, and for making fine cuisine accessible, the book is still in print and is considered a seminal culinary work. Up until the point when they have published their book, the concept of French food was a tough cacahoute to crack, but Julia Childs humor and friendliness seemed to say Im one of you. I started late and I can do it, so you can too.[footnoteRef:16] [16: http://www.popmatters.com/post/161490-bless-this-mess-sweeping-the-kitchen-with-julia-child/, 1st of May 2014,21:42]

My Life in FranceMy Life in Franceis an autobiography byJulia Child, published in2006. It was compiled by Julia Child andAlex Prud'homme, her husband's grandnephew, during the last eight months of her life, and completed and published by Prud'homme following her death in August 2004.[footnoteRef:17] [17: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Life_in_France; 2nd of May 2014, 16:00]

In her own words, it is a book about the things Julia loved most in her life: her husband, France (her "spiritual homeland"), and the "many pleasures of cooking and eating." It is a collection of linked autobiographical stories, mostly focused on the years between 1948 and 1954, recounting in detail the culinary experiences Julia and her husband,Paul Child, enjoyed while living inParis,Marseilles, andProvence.[footnoteRef:18] [18: Child, Julia My Life in France,p. 6-7]

Birthday, 1961.O Julia, Julia, cook and nifty wenchWhose unsurpassed quenelles and hot soufflsWhose English, Norse and German, and whose FrenchAre all beyond my piteous powers of praiseWhose sweetly rounded bottom and whose legs,Whose gracious face, whose nature temperateAre only equaled by her scrambled eggsAccept from me, your ever-loving mate,This acclamation shaped in fourteen linesWhose inner truth belies its outward sightFor never were there foods, nor were there winesWhose flavor equals yours for sheer delightO luscious dish! O gustatory pleasure!You satisfy my taste buds beyond measure.The text is accompanied by black-and-white photographs taken by Paul Child, and research for the book was partially done using family letters, datebooks, photographs, sketches, poems and cards.

[footnoteRef:19]My Life in Franceprovides a detailed chronology of the process through which Julia Child's name, face, and voice became well known to most Americans. [19: http://www.katedudding.com/newsletters/july-2010.shtml, 2nd of May 2014, 16:23]

(Julia and Paul having breakfast at La Pitchoune, their home in Provence, 1969)The French Chef

Her first television cooking show appeared after viewers enjoyed her demonstration of how to cook an omelette.The French Chefhad its debut on February 11, 1963and was immediately successful. When the show began, the budget was so low that "volunteers had to be recruited to wash dishes, and the food sometimes had to be auctioned to the audience afterwards to cover expenses."[footnoteRef:20] [20: "Food: Everyone's in the Kitchen".Time. November 25, 1966]

In 1964 Child received a Peabody Award, crediting her for doing "more than show us how good cooking is achieved; by her delightful demonstrations she has brought the pleasures of good living into many American homes."[footnoteRef:21]In May 1966, her show won aPrimetime Emmy Awardfor Achievements in Educational Television Individuals.[footnoteRef:22] [21: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_French_Chef; 2nd of May 2014, 22:43] [22: Idem ]

Though she was not the first television cook, Child was the most widely seen. She attracted the broadest audience with her cheery enthusiasm, distinctively charming warbly voice, and unpatronizing and unaffected manner. In 1972,The French Chefbecame the first television program to becaptionedfor thedeaf, albeit in the preliminary technology of open captioning.

(Julia Child on the set of The French Chef in1960;Julia Child holding her 1966 Emmy Award)

Rumours and urban legendsOver the years the criticisms came as often as the accolades. The inaccessibility of French cooking had benefitted some chefs who were less than pleased with the concept that anyone could cook. The way Child spoke in the high, spirited way she had, the health concerns of the higher fat recipes she taught and even the very accessible, good friend methods she employed were also fodder for criticism over the years. These things did little to tarnish her popularity or influence (although often familiarity tends to be an ingredient in the recipe for contempt). On the other hand, her likability and familiar presence in the public eye also led to rumors and even urban legends. From the more extreme side, there is an oft-repeated rumor that before her license to grill, Child had a license to kill and that her OSS days were packed with espionage and intrigue. There is, of course, no evidence that she ever held a gun instead of a frying pan. Harvey Korman as a four armed alien version of Julia Child inThe Star Wars Holiday Special(1978)On the bizarre, but almost believable side is the near omnipresent urban legend that expanded on Childs happy catchlines In the kitchen, nobody can see you. and Whos to know? The dubious legend suggests that Ms Julia dropped an entire raw turkey on the floor during an episodes taping, dusted the bird off, returned it to the pan and assured her audience Remember, youre alone in the kitchen.[footnoteRef:23] [23: http://www.popmatters.com/post/161490-bless-this-mess-sweeping-the-kitchen-with-julia-child/ 2nd of May 2014; 22:54]

Variations on the rumor have kept it going for years, stretching its credibility as often as the food item itself varied in the telling. Whether it was indicated to be a salmon, a chicken, a lamb a roast or a duck, the vaguely stomach-turning rumor is as unrelenting as it is hard to believe. However, this rumor still managed to show up in such respected publications asThe Washington Post(where the item was identified as a lamb) and such news shows as NPRsMorning Edition[footnoteRef:24](where it was a chicken). [24: Idem]

In truth, this never happened. The closest reality came to the tall tale was Childs flipping of a potato pancake out of the pan and onto her clean counter, not the floor. While she did scoop the pancake back into the pan with a casual You are alone in the kitchen and nobody can see you. [footnoteRef:25]this was hardly the health risk that makes the story a legend. [25: Idem]

Meryl Streep as Julia ChildJulie & Juliais a 2009 Americancomedy-dramafilm written and directed by Nora EphronstarringMeryl Streep,Stanley Tucci,Amy Adams, andChris Messina. The film contrasts the life of chefJulia Childin the early years of her culinary career with the life of young New YorkerJulie Powell, who aspires to cook all 524 recipes in Child's cookbook in 365 days, a challenge she described onher popular blogthat would make her a published author.[footnoteRef:26] [26: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_%26_Julia 2nd of May 2014; 23:24]

The screenplay is adapted from two books:My Life in France, Child's autobiography written withAlex Prud'homme, and amemoirby Powell documenting online her daily experiences cooking each of the 524 recipes in Child'sMastering the Art of French Cooking, and she later began reworking that blog, The Julie/Julia Project. The film has received generally positive reviews from critics.Meryl Streep has been widely praised for her performance as Child. Movie criticA. O. ScottofThe New York Timesaffirmed that "By now [Streep] has exhausted every superlative that exists and to suggest that she has outdone herself is only to say that shes done it again. Her performance goes beyond physical imitation, though she has the rounded shoulders and the fluting voice down perfectly." [footnoteRef:27]ReviewerPeter Traverswrote inRolling Stonethat "Streep at her brilliant, beguiling best is the spice that does the trick for the yummyJulie & Julia."[footnoteRef:28] Similarly, Stephanie Zacharek ofSalonconcluded that "Streep isn't playing Julia Child here, but something both more elusive and more truthful she's playing our idea of Julia Child."[footnoteRef:29] [27: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_%26_Julia] [28: Idem] [29: Stephanie Zacharek, Salon: Movie review of Julie & Julia. Aug 7, 2009]

For her role, Meryl Streep won 14 prizes, including: Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, and a nomination for Best Actress at Academy Awarads. Nearly 92After the death of her beloved friendSimone Beck, Child relinquishedLa Pitchouneafter a monthlong stay in June 1992 with her family, her niece, Phila, and close friend and biographer,Nol Riley Fitch. She turned the keys over to Jean Fischbacher's sister, just as she and Paul had promised nearly 30 years earlier. Also in 1992, Julia spent five days in Sicily at the invitation of Regaleali Winery. American journalistBob Spitzspent a brief time with Julia during that period while he was researching and writing his then working title,History of Eating and Cooking in America. [footnoteRef:30] [30: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Child#Last_years_and_posthumous 2nd of May 5, 2014; 23:01]

Paul Child, who was ten years older than his wife, died in 1994 after living in a nursing home for five years following a series of strokes in 1989.[footnoteRef:31] [31: Child, Julia; Prud'homme, Alex (2006).My Life in France. Random House. pp.329333]

In 2001, Child moved to a retirement community, donating her house and office toSmith College, which later sold the house. She donated her kitchen, which her husband designed with high counters to accommodate her height, and which served as the set for three of her television series, to theNational Museum of American History.[footnoteRef:32] [32: http://amhistory.si.edu/juliachild/flash_home.asp, 2nd of May 2014; 23:48]

Her iconic copper pots and pans were on display atCOPIAinNapa, California, until August 2009 when they were reunited with her kitchen at theSmithsonian'sNational Museum of American HistoryinWashington, D.C.In 2000, Child received the FrenchLegion of Honourand was elected a Fellow of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciencesin 2000.She was awarded the U.S.Presidential Medal of Freedomin 2003[footnoteRef:33]; she also receivedhonorary doctoratesfromHarvard University,Johnson & Wales University(1995),Smith College(her alma mater),Brown University(2000), and several other universities.[footnoteRef:34] [33: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Child#Awards_and_nominations, 3nd of May 2014; 00:32] [34: Idem]

On August 13, 2004, Julia Child died ofkidney failureat her retirement community home, Casa Dorinda, inMontecito, California, two days before her 92nd birthday. Her last meal wasFrench onion soup.[footnoteRef:35] Child ended her last book,My Life in France, with "... thinking back on it now reminds that the pleasures of the table, and of life, are infinite toujours bon apptit!" [footnoteRef:36] [35: https://shine.yahoo.com/shine-food/the-famous-last-meals-of-mj-julia-child-jfk-and-8-others-752791.html; 3nd of May 2014; 03:30] [36: Child, Julia; Prud'homme, Alex (2006).My Life in France. Random House. pp.329333]

Conclusion

"Julia made the distinction between the home cook just cooking, putting it on the table, and cooking with finesse, tasting and understanding what she was doing. She believed that that's where the joy came." says Judith Jones, the book editor who rescued "Mastering the Art" after it suffered multiple rejections. This is one of the virtues of Julia Child I appreciate: the power of finding joy in everything she did, whether it was cooking, writing or filming.Another reason why I find her a role model is her activism in changing American society of the 60. It was a time of social and particularly gender upheaval in America: The birth control pill was introduced, sexual mores were changing, women were working. Child was an outspoken champion of women's causes. She did dozens of fundraisers for Planned Parenthood, and when she underwent a mastectomy in 1968 she was open and public about it, helping to dispel stigma of breast cancer.[footnoteRef:37] Her biographer, Splitz, says: "Julia always considered herself a feminist. Always. But not in a fundamentalist sort of way. [37: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/08/julia-child-women-cooking-joy-of-food_n_1500372.html; 2nd of May 2014]

She is one of my favourite public figures, as she was a real familist, a career woman, a wonderful wife and an inspiring person for American and European, yet she always managed to keep a balance in her personal and professional life. "What I really understood from Julia Child was that if you really, really want something you shouldn't let anything get in your way," Sara Moulton, one of her students, says. " She was willing to go into a man's world and cook this food that women weren't cooking. She's a role model."When I think of what kind of women I would like to become, I picture Julia Child. In a society where kitsch, stupidity and vulgarity are the most common ways of becoming successful, the decency, the will and the joy Julia used in order to become Julia Child are the ones inspiring and encouraging me.Bibliography

Child, Julia; Prud'homme, Alex (2006).My Life in France. Random House Child, Julia; Beck, Simone; Bertholle, Louisette. Mastering the Art of French Cooking http://www.pbs.org/food/julia-child/ 1st of May 2014 Riley, Fitch, Noel; Appetite for Life: the Biography of Julia Child(1997) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Child#Childhood_and_education, 2nd of May 2014 Miller, Greg; "Files from WWII Office of Strategic Services are secret no more" https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2007-featured-story-archive/julia-child.html1st of May 2014 http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/08/books/review/08grim.html?_r=0 , 1st of May 2014 http://www.simplystreep.com/content/specials/reallife/juliachild.html, 1st of May 2014 http://www.popmatters.com/post/161490-bless-this-mess-sweeping-the-kitchen-with-julia-child/, 1st of May 2014 http://www.pbs.org/food/julia-child/, 1st of May 2014 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Life_in_France; 2nd of May 2014 "Food: Everyone's in the Kitchen".Time. November 25, 1966 http://www.katedudding.com/newsletters/july-2010.shtml, 2nd of May 2014 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_French_Chef; 2nd of May 2014 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/08/julia-child-women-cooking-joy-of-food_n_1500372.html; 2nd of May 2014 https://shine.yahoo.com/shine-food/the-famous-last-meals-of-mj-julia-child-jfk-and-8-others-752791.html; 3nd of May 2014; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Child#Awards_and_nominations, 3nd of May 2014 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Child#Last_years_and_posthumous 2nd of May 5, 2014; 23:01 http://amhistory.si.edu/juliachild/flash_home.asp, 2nd of May 2014 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_%26_Julia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_French_Chef; 2nd of May 2014

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