Julia Child

A movie of inspiration to the introduction of french food and the stories behind them, watch Julie & Julia.  Now I know what many people have said, they didn't like the movie or it wasn't what they thought the movie would be like or Meryl Streep didn't play an accurate portrait of Julia Child.  Well, despite all the nay-sayers, I quite like the movie.  I think Nora Ephron, the director, did a marvelous job capturing the picturesque times when Julia & Paul Child were in Paris (I myself have been to the French capital) and in turn did an equally good job at capturing the both the struggles and smiles of the life of Julie Powell and mastering Julia Child's French cookbook.  I read Julie's further adventures in her 2nd book about becoming a butcher, and she even said she liked the movie.

I remember when I was young, watching Julia Child on PBS with my mother.  Julia was wonderful; and still is wonderful on all her shows and in her books.  I would have loved to meet her, RIP Julia.  Julia & Jacque Pepin's show on PBS on Saturday mornings was one of my favorites.  I would watch every new show.  Julia would make a dish her way while Jacque did his own, but in the end they would both have delicious looking dishes and glow with big smiles across their faces.  What a joy it was to watch them.  At the time, so young, I did not know I wanted to be a chef, but playing "house" with my own plastic child-sized kitchen in the playroom with all my assorted plastic foods was always my delight.

When watching Julie & Julia, we can share in those "warm-'n-fuzzy-feelings" when we eat something, dare I say it, yummy, and our guests and ourselves (most important, self) love it.  Something as simple as sharing a glass of wine and my So You Had a Bad Day bread and cheese dinner is not only a comfort, but a relief that this will always be good and is most always better shared.  I think this is one of the main reasons I cook, I love that feeling.  Yes, you could say this feeling is just like a Food Dance.  However simple or complex your food may be, or your dance, just to know that someone else is enjoying it always puts a smile across my face.

So thank you Julia Child for being one of the first celebrities to begin my cooking inspirations.
And thank you Paul Child for these words: "You are the butter to my bread, the breath to my life, I love you."  Words of such beautiful wisdom can only for always be shared with one another.

ps. I forgot to mention, I have visited Julia's kitchen at the Smithsonian, and it was a dream. If you're in D.C. you must go!