The authors reveal which materials, layouts, and equipment Julia preferred and why, providing practical advice interspersed with Julia’s inimitable, wry humor. Pamela Heyne and Julia’s long-time food photographer Jim Scherer collaborate to share Julia’s kitchen design and lifestyle concepts in this book, which examines the kitchens in her Cambridge, Massachusetts, home at la Pitchoune, the Childs’ French vacation retreat and in her television studio. American culinary icon Julia Child embraced the significance of the family meal and was devoted to sharing delicious food with friends and family at the comfortable dining table in her kitchen, a place where conversation was as important as cuisine. They resemble laboratories more than the heart of the home, and they are neither cook friendly nor family friendly. Indeed, our contemporary kitchens are showplaces with islands, hidden appliances, and cold stone surfaces. “Most architects I know don’t know anything about cooking, and their designs are not practical for cooks!” Julia Child wrote to architect Pamela Heyne. In Julia's Kitchen: Practical and Convivial Kitchen Design Inspired by Julia Child by Pamela Heyne and Jim Scherer Now, with more than 200 of Paul’s photographs and personal stories recounted by his great-nephew Alex Prud’homme, France is a Feast not only captures this magical period in Paul and Julia’s lives, but also brings to light Paul Child’s own remarkable photographic achievement. Though Paul was an accomplished photographer (his work is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art), his photographs remained out of the public eye until the publication of Julia’s memoir, My Life in France, in which several of his images were included. As Julia recalled: “Paris was wonderfully walkable, and it was a natural subject for Paul.” Their wanderings through the French capital and countryside, frequently photographed by Paul, would help lead to the classic Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and Julia’s brilliant and celebrated career in books and on television. Paul and Julia moved to Paris in 1948 where he was cultural attaché for the US Information Service, and in this role he met Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa, Brassai, and other leading lights of the photography world. Through intimate and compelling photographs taken by her husband Paul Child, a gifted photographer, France is a Feast documents how Julia Child first discovered French cooking and the French way of life. France is a Feast: The Photographic Journey of Paul and Julia Child by Alex Prud'homme & Katie Pratt You can even see a Hollywood version of her life in France, juxtapositioned with a blogger who spent a year cooking from her book ( Julie and Julia). You can also see her original show, The French Chef, preserved on DVD. You can celebrate her birth by reading about her life and mission to popularize French cooking in America in the book Appetite for Life by Noel Riley Fitch, or by diving in and trying some of her recipes yourself. She was relaxed and confident, but always a stickler for doing it right.
Then she began televised cooking demonstrations that morphed into one series after another and pioneered American cooking shows. All the smart money said that American cooks were too lazy to learn the exacting methods of the French kitchen, but she proved them wrong when Mastering the Art of French Cooking became a huge success. She fought with publishers who wanted to dumb down her work. She corresponded with and cross-examined friends and acquaintances on what worked and what didn’t, and experimented with every dish that came her way.
Child worked to find easily accessible stateside ingredients that would bring authentic French food within the reach of American cooks. She meandered through her life with no particular purpose till middle age, when she was introduced to French cooking, zealously studied it and became its greatest English language evangelist. This year, we celebrate the 105th anniversary of Julia Child’s birth.
It’s the difference between doing it and doing it right. Then I tried Julia Child’s more precise, lengthy method, and found that the exact same ingredients could yield a superior dish of distinct textures and flavors, with each vegetable standing out. I didn’t care or question why it was mostly a gray mushy goo.
I once had a set recipe for ratatouille that was reliable - full of tasty tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, garlic, onions, etc., chopped up and easily cooked together in a pot. Celebrate the Life of Julia Child Posted over 4 years ago by Linda K