Remembering Julia Child: 'French Chef' touched many lives

"Julia Child wasn't always Julia Child."

That statement, uttered by actress Amy Adams in the new film "Julie & Julia," goes to the heart of the culinary icon's powerful appeal more than five years after her death.

The story of an eccentric, frustrated, awkward-looking woman who discovers her purpose at midlife is one which connects on an emotional level for women and aspiring cooks alike.

That Child would become a successful cookbook author, pioneer of American cuisine and television icon is almost inconceivable. This was someone who likely wouldn't get an audition in today's picture-perfect, high-definition world, much less her own show.

That tousled hair. The ill-fitting wardrobe hanging off her towering frame. And of course, that voice. It had a tone you were more likely to hear at the time over a teetotaled hand of bridge, not on television. But it was those warm, off-kilter, self-effacing qualities that made her so endearing to millions of viewers.

Pegged to today's opening in theaters of "Julie & Julia," we invited readers, some who knew Child, to share their memories of the woman who taught them about the transformative power of food.

Julia Child and John Williams in 1996.

"I met her for the first time in 1996 at the IACP [International Association of Culinary Professionals] convention in Philadelphia soon after I moved to Tampa and [our public relations firm] had just gotten the Georgia pecans account.

"We were sitting in the lobby of the Marriott in Philadelphia and I asked out loud, 'Do you think I'll get to meet Julia?' And someone said, 'She's sitting right behind you.' I turned around and there was Julia and her assistant, Stephanie Hersh.

"I introduced myself. She took my hand and said in that voice of hers, 'Oh, it's so good to see young people in our organization.' She was very down to earth, all smiles and relaxed. She wore a name badge like all of us did. She quizzed me about what I was doing in the food world. I told her that Georgia pecans was our first big food account.

"The next couple of years I'd see her at the convention, she didn't remember my name but she'd ask me about how those luscious pecans were. She said I needed to do the PR for the 'tomahhhtoes' of Florida. 'They're so sensuous,' she said. Someone laughed and she said, 'Well, they are!'

"In 2000, I went to the food writers symposium at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., and she was one of the guest speakers. One of those nights, I had a chance to have dinner with her. At one point, I told her, 'Julia I'm not a very good cook.' She said, 'John, do you like to eat?' I said, 'Yes, absolutely.' 'Well then,' she said, 'write about it. Write from your taste buds.'

"In 2001, the last time I saw her, it was the year I was president of the International Foodservice Editorial Council (IFEC). We had our meeting in Providence, R.I., and Julia agreed to be a judge for our student culinary competition at Johnson & Wales University. She was using a walker at that point. At the end of that competition, I presented her with a watercolor painting of an angel. It was inscribed, "To Julia, who taught America to cook.' She was seated, so I tried to take it over to give it to her, but as quickly as she could, she got on the walker and flew over to me.

"During that conference, we had dinner at Al Forno restaurant in Providence. We sent a car to drive her from Cambridge to Providence. When she was getting out, her driver asked, 'Do you want your walker?' She said, 'Oh, no, I have John's arm.' She put her arm through mine. I was scared to death she was going to fall. We walked in and the place went crazy. Some tables stood and applauded.

"After we were seated, she turned to me and asked me to help pick something for her to order. I said, 'Why not try the pumpkin ravioli?' She said it was too sweet and took over from there. She suggested we all get different things, then take a bite and pass them around the table.

"She ordered one glass of red wine. She said, 'My doctor frowns on it, but I don't always listen to him.'

"She was a true mentor to me. She gave me the inspiration and drive to take Sahlman Williams in an all-food direction. I never cooked with her, but she was truly an inspiration to me."

John Williams,
partner in the Tampa-based food public relations firm Sahlman Williams

Chef Sarah Mouton

"She had such passion in the kitchen. Whether we were cooking on the set are at the house, she'd constantly say, 'Isn't this so much fun?' or 'Aren't we having fun?'

"She had a tape of Dan Aykroyd impersonating her on 'Saturday Night Live' and she showed it at dinner parties. She clearly enjoyed it, but she had no idea why people thought she was funny. I think she thought she was just who she was.

"She was the most confident person I have ever met. She loved doing TV and was a natural teacher who taught that not only is it OK to make a mistake, it's a good idea to make a mistake because you learn from your mistake. And if Julia Child is willing to make a mistake on national television, how bad could it be?

"It didn't mean she was arrogant, though. She always called herself a home cook. That title 'The French Chef' was not her choice."

Sara Moulton,
chef for Gourmet magazine and "Good Morning America" who worked with Child on the show, "Julia Child & More Company"

"My dad was not the easiest person to live with, especially at the dinner table. He wanted meat and potatoes that were cooked to death.

"My mother was a very creative and talented cook, and since I was the last of five children born 11 years after my closest sibling, my mother and I became buddies, especially in the kitchen.

"Julia Child opened up the world to my mother and me. We watched each show and took notes like college students and laughed at Julia's antics until we were breathless. My mom and I were like Lucy and Ethel in the kitchen: trying Julia's recipes, laughing when things went wrong, praising each other when things went right, enjoying the adventure of the culinary unknown and watching my dad turn green when presented with a French masterpiece!

"My mom passed away many years ago, but my time in the kitchen now is still time I spend with her. She's always there with me, sharing new culinary delights and marveling at the many new gadgets that take most of the work out of today's cooking. I can still hear her laughter every time I think of Julia Child signing off, 'This is Julia Child, bon appetit!' I thank God every day for my mother and the pleasure Julia Child gave us both."

Caz Norwich,
Lakeland

Jane Graves and her father in 1990.

"It was my Saturday afternoon ritual: Make a sandwich. Grab a cold drink. Go to my room. Shut the door. Turn on the TV - a little black-and-white model. Change the channel to our local PBS station. Settle back into my black beanbag chair. And wait for that jaunty theme music.

"I was 12 years old. And Julia Child was my idol. It was 'French Chef' time.

"I don't quite remember what brought me to my Saturday afternoons with Julia. Chances are I read about the programming lineup in TV Guide and just tuned in one day.

"I watched Julia with her non-intimidating style and consummate skill move 'round her TV kitchen and create dishes the likes of which I'd never seen before in my home kitchen. Salade Niçoise. Chocolate Mousse. Veal Prince Orloff.

"So imagine my delight when under the tree Christmas morning '77, I found a copy of Julia's 'The French Chef Cookbook.' I spent all of the 25th and most of the 26th reading until my eyes grew heavy with exhaustion.

"As I read though my new treasure, my mind pondered all the possibilities. What would be the first thing I would make under Julia's guidance as I followed her directions ... which recipe would be the one that I would use as my jumping off point into the world of serious cooking? The answer soon became apparent: French onion soup.

"The recipe looked simple enough. Not many ingredients to bog down a new (but very eager) cook. Nothing too unusual to intimidate. And it was something that everyone in my immediate family would dig.

"And so I began a ritual that I continue to this day. I've been making Julia's French onion soup for over 30 years. Happily. When I was single and living on my own, it was my family's traditional Christmas Eve dinner -- everyone would come to whatever hovel I was living in at the time for soup, salad, wine and conversation after the Christmas Eve church service. These days, I make it when the air turns cool and the palate craves a bit of familiar sophistication."

Jane Graves,
St. Petersburg

"For the first 12 years of our marriage, my husband was transferred constantly. We crisscrossed the country from Chicago to California to Cleveland to Jersey to California to New Mexico. Most of the time he was working long hours and I was dealing with either settling us into housing or preparing to sell housing -- a lonely proposition.

"But I always had Julia Child. No matter where I was, I could be in her kitchen totally focused on the delicious project she was explaining. I felt very comfortable - companionable - as if I were standing right beside her peering at the progress in a pot or looking for the little measuring cup of capers.

"Although she'd make occasional quips and laugh at herself for a spill or blunder, it was definitely serious business and I could lose myself focusing on the task with her. There were no special effects or assistants. It was just a plain, sort of odd lady showing me how to do things in her kitchen. That special time was a break from my isolation and a feeling of normalcy. It was something to look forward to.

"On the occasions when we did socialize during those years, I used to tell people, 'I wouldn't say that I'm lonely, but Julia Child is my best friend.'"

Valerie Reed,
Tampa

Charlie McCollum

"I was a very rebellious teenager in the '60s. There were few lines of communication between my parents and myself, except for Julia Child.

"My mother had gotten me interested in cooking a few years earlier. By age 12, I had cooked an entire Sunday roast beef dinner by myself for the family of six.

"Watching Julia on television was one of the few activities that mom and I could really enjoy together. We were always amazed at the large quantities of butter that she used. Today, I am the primary cook in our house and Julia's 'The Way to Cook' is my bible.

"Julia, you were an inspiration. Bon appetit!"

Charlie McCollum,
North Port