Happy Birthday Julia Child!!! (100th commemorative)

[Greg Who Cooks]

Today August 15th is the 100th commemorative of Julia Child's birthday! Happy birthday Julia!

You wrote one of the most influential cookbooks of my life, Mastering the Art of French Cooking and three more of my favorite cookbooks! (And dozens more, many of which I haven't even seen.) You inspired me to learn to cook the French "mother sauces." I learned from you and Jacques how to take a whole chicken and fold it flat (in Julia & Jacques Cooking at Home).

You were an inspirational influence on many of us with your pioneering cooking TV programs and your many books. (And heh, you inspired Dan Aykroyd's pretty funny Saturday Nite Live parody skit "The French Chef" -- see it on NBC or Hulu.)

Julia changed the way I cook and the way I think about cooking and I thank her for that! I will never again look at simple ingredients and think that I will be restricted to cooking only plain recipes.

Gone 8 years now and she is missed. She lived 2 days short of her 92nd birthday.

 

[Kylie1969]

Happy Birthday Julia

 

[Margi Cintrano]

Julia Child: Great Mentor, Coach & Professor

Greg, Buon Giorno, Good Morning,

Thank you for posting. She was a truly great culinary artist, mentor, coach, professor and chef.

I too, have all her books ... and saw the film with Meryl Streep as well which we enjoyed ...

Ciao, have nice August.
Margaux.

 

[DaveSoMD]

I remember watching The French Chef on PBS when I was young, even remember seeing some of the black & white episodes in rerun. She was definitely an influence and a pioneer in field of cooking shows!

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I picked up her Biography, Dearie, by Bob Spitz, the other day.

 

[lyndalou]

Happy Birthday, Julia. you remain one of the greatest teachers of all time.

 

[Katie H]

She was/is a national treasure!!! Happy Birthday, Julia!! You continue to live on and teach.

Bon appetit!

 

[LPBeier]

Happy Birthday, Julia.
Her legacy will live on forever!

 

[Andy M.]

I learned a great deal from Julia on her TV shows. Starting with French Chef and up through her shows with Jacques Pepin. She and JP were both entertaining and teachers of the important aspects of food preparation and cooking.

She's one of my cooking heroes.

 

[kadesma]

What a wonderful woman she was. If only we all would be as in love with the food we prepare as she was. I loved watching her TV programs. Laugh at yourself when the chicken hits the floor or garlic sails across the room behind you. If you can learn to laugh at yourself you can master anything.
Happy Birthday to the best teacher I know.
kadesma

 

[DaveSoMD]

What a wonderful woman she was. If only we all would be as in love with the food we prepare as she was. I loved watching her TV programs. Laugh at yourself when the chicken hits the floor or garlic sails across the room behind you. If you can learn to laugh at yourself you can master anything.
Happy Birthday to the best teacher I know.
kadesma

I never saw the chicken episode but I remember one where the opening starts and Julia raise her arm and slams a mallet down with a loud WHACK onto a towel that is wrapped around something on the counter. As she unwraps the towel... "Coconuts!! Today on the French Chef!!!"

 

[Cheryl J]

What a wonderful woman she was. If only we all would be as in love with the food we prepare as she was. I loved watching her TV programs. Laugh at yourself when the chicken hits the floor or garlic sails across the room behind you. If you can learn to laugh at yourself you can master anything.
Happy Birthday to the best teacher I know.
kadesma

Kades....I was thinking those same thoughts, but you said it so much better than I could.

I still watch Julia's shows whenever I see them on PBS. I always loved her and always will! Happy birthday, Julia.

 

[Cheryl J]

I never saw the chicken episode but I remember one where the opening starts and Julia raise her arm and slams a mallet down with a loud WHACK onto a towel that is wrapped around something on the counter. As she unwraps the towel... "Coconuts!! Today on the French Chef!!!"

Haha! That is SO Julia.

 

[taxlady]

I loved her shows and learned a lot from them. I always remember the time she was showing coq au vin and chicken cacciatore, first cousins. She took the lids off of both pots and smacked them together over her head like cymbals. They rained on her.

 

[Cheryl J]

Taxlady, that is so funny! I never saw that one.

Her bio is on now on the cooking channel - not the food network, but the other one, lol. It's on again later tonight - not sure how the time difference applies here, but some of you may be able to catch it if you do a search.

It's from 2008, and I've seen it before, but it's a timely showing today, considering....

 

[Hoot]

Never did acquire Mastering...My favorite book of hers is "From Julia Child's Kitchen"
She was one of my earliest inspirations. Used to watch her shows on the old NET (National Educational Television), too many years ago to be worth mentioning.
She will always be remembered and missed.

 

[4meandthem]

Happy Birthday Julia! Thanks for all the help through the years. You are missed!