Julia Child

“People who love to eat are always the best people.” - Julia… (“Jooolia”☺️🤌🏼)

This is chef Julia Child, a hearty cheerful soul to have in studio; I’ve loved getting to know her in color.

Born in california in 1912, julia chased adventure and hoped to join the war after Pearl Harbor but was turned away for being too tall at 6’2”… eventually she worked for the Office of Strategic Services (what would become the CIA) during World War II, and can you believe, she developed a shark repellant used to protect submarines from nosey sharks, her first culinary recipe!

Following foreign service posts in Ceylon and China (she credits Chinese food for sparking her love for cuisine), Julia + her husband Paul moved to Paris and she attended Le Cordon Bleu. Her marriage and new passion for cooking happened later in life, and I’m grateful for the reminder that we’re never too old to dream new dreams; stay curious & creative.

Julia’s kind warmth and humor brought so many to the kitchen in the 1960’s via her PBS cooking shows and cookbooks... Mastering the Art of French Cooking was an enormous effort, taking 9 years to write, rewrite and publish, and yet she persisted, making complex French recipes accessible to American home cooks… my daughter and a friend made her famous Boeuf Bourguignon recently for their French class and had a blast… “try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless and above all have fun.“

Gracious and generous, Julia championed many causes, created foundations, earned honorary degrees and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2003 by President George W Bush. She passed away a couple days before her 92nd birthday enjoying a bowl of french onion soup as her final meal.