Watching Julia Child

 

         Several weeks ago C and I went to see an exhibit at the history museum. It was an exhibit that showcased her life starting from her childhood and following her through her life and career.  I was interested in seeing the exhibit because I always enjoy learning more about the lives of women who do things. The exhibit was very good. I also liked the exhibit of cookbooks put out by churches and other groups for fundraising purposes. 

        The exhibit showed the kitchen where she recorded her first shows. You could open up doors and cupboards and little little bits of trivia related to the show. One of the things that struck me was that she seemed to be very down to earth. It also showed how she and her husband, Paul, worked together on her cookbooks and her show. They had a wonderful partnership that was really nice to see.

        Several days ago The French Chef, Julia Child's first cooking show, showed up on my YouTube feed. I had no idea how it got there. Since I had recently seen the museum exhibit, I thought it might be fun to watch her show. 

        The show started out with a jaunty theme song. Julia introduced herself and then talked about what she was cooking that day, scallops. Then she started cooking and explaining what she was doing as she went along. I liked how she explained what things should look like and smell like. She was also good at giving the amount of ingredients she was using evening though many times she measured by sight instead of using a measuring spoon. Once she finished cooking, she brought the finished dish out to a table that was set with plates and flatware and talked about what wine to serve with it. Then the show ended. I sat there watching the ending credits wanting to buy some scallops and cook them. (I've had scallops and the are very good when cooked correctly.)

        Once I watched one show more started to pop up and finally I found the channel that they were coming from and subscribed. There were all kinds of interesting things to watch. I watched her make meringue, a molded rice dessert and something called Dinner in a Pot which is three types of meat boiled in a pot with seasoning and vegetables. One of my favourite episodes is called Steaks and Hamburgers. Julia showed various cuts of meat and had a chart showing where the cuts came from. The truly amusing part was when she was quoting prices for the various cuts with the highest prices being close to two dollars a pound. 

    I can see why she is such a beloved public figure. Watching her move around the kitchen explaining how to use a knife, cook an omelette or try to get something out of a mold seems so well, normal. She sounds like an older woman showing others a skills that she learned so they can experience the same love of cooking that she has. She makes you believe that you can do what she is doing. That is a powerful and wonderful thing.