Julia Child Changed How America Eats

Julia Child in her kitchen in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Today’s teenagers may not realize how different Americans’ eating habits were in decades past. Fine dining was to be found only in expensive restaurants. Home cooks considered themselves at the height of sophistication if they could coat a canned pear half with cream cheese and almonds and call it a pine cone salad. But then Julia Child (1912–2004) starting cooking on national TV. The French Chef first aired on February 11, 1963, and was big hit from the get-go. The show opened a new world to millions of American cooks. That program, along with Child’s ground-breaking cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, convinced American cooks that they could make for themselves the fancy dishes that had only been available in pricey, big-city restaurants. With a down-to-earth manner, straightforward instructions, and a hearty laugh, Child broke down culinary barriers for all time. Her popularity never waned, as more TV programs and cookbooks followed.

August 15 would have been Julia Child’s 100th birthday. To mark the occasion, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., has put her home kitchen on display at the American History Museum. (Child had donated the kitchen in 2001.) The kitchen was not just the set for Child’s TV shows; it was also where she cooked for her own family and friends. It contains all the furniture, appliances, pots, pans, gadgets, and whatnots that she used every day.

Also to celebrate Child’s birthday, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has published As Always, Julia: The Letters of Julia Child & Avis DeVoto. The book contains more than 200 letters exchanged between Child and DeVoto, her good friend and unofficial literary agent. The topics range from the celebrated chef’s freckles to her love for the French people—and many subjects in between.

Image credit: ©Jon chase/AP Images

Related Links

• Julia Child’s Kitchen
  Follow the links at this site to tour the exhibit.
  (Source: Smithsonian; accessed August 31, 2012)
• Julia Child: Cooking with Master Chefs
  See what all the buzz is about by watching full episodes of Julia Child’s TV show.
  (Source: PBS; accessed August 31, 2012)
• Julia Child (1912–2004)
  Over the years, The New York Times has published many articles about Julia Child. When she died in 2004, the paper provided links to the older articles. (Note that the newspaper allows readers only a certain number of free articles per month.)
  (Source: New York Times; accessed August 31, 2012)
• Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Commemorates Julia Child’s 100th Birthday with As Always
  Read more about the letters exchanged between Child and her agent.
  (Source: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, August 6, 2012)
• Julia Child Dished Out . . . Spy Secrets?
  Read about Child’s pre-chef career.
  (Source: ABC News, August 14, 2008)