August 15, 2012 — That the American diet has not been entirely overrun by fast food and microwaveable dinners is due, in at least some small part, to Julia Child.
Child, who would have celebrated her 100th birthday Wednesday, brought French cuisine—and perhaps more importantly, the courage to cook it—to the American table.
Born Julia McWilliams in Pasadena, California, she worked for the Office of Strategic Services, through which she met her husband Paul Cushing Child while posted in what is now Sri Lanka. The two married in 1946 and established a home base in Washington, D.C,—a sunny, yellow Georgetown house—while Paul's job with State Department sent the couple to Paris, France.
There, Child learned the techniques of French cuisine, as depicted in the 2009 film Julie & Julia, and taught American women to cook from her Paris kitchen. Her first cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, was published in 1961, and she continued to write about cooking for various magazine and newspapers.
Robert Vanasse, who filmed a documentary of Lacoste cooking Child's birthday dinner, explains how her legacy is still relevant today.
"I think that you look at the food issues that we're facing today—obesity, junk food, processed food—Julia Child made people focus on food and cooking, and sparked an interest that was really healthy."
Before Child, he says, American food was "boring" and "conventional," and the culinary arts was not the esteemed field it is today. "The profound effect she had on chefs was remarkable, but more remarkable was the profound effect she had on the American public," he explains, noting President George W. Bush giving her the Medal of Freedom in 2003. From the book Fast Food Nation to the movie Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, "The consciousness in America of, where does my food come from—all of those concerns, Julia sparked that," says Vanasse.
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