Another hero gone.

Esav Benyamin

Esav Benyamin

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I just heard on the radio that Julia Childs died. She was over 90 years old, so it's not like it was unexpected. During the Second World War, she was an OSS agent.

Of course, once life got back to "normal" she was probably the one person most responsible for the wide appreciation of cooking shows on TV! :D

The New York Times has the story: Julia Child, 91, Dies; She Entertained as She Taught Cooking

Julia Child, who mastered the art of French cooking well enough to turn it into prime-time entertainment and who by introducing cassoulet to a casserole culture elevated both American food and television, died today at her home in Santa Barbara, Calif. She would have been 92 on Sunday.

Mrs. Child was not the first dedicated cook to turn cooking into a spectator sport — James Beard preceded her on television in 1945, Dione Lucas in 1948 — but she was the first to understand the seductiveness of a breezy approach to daunting material. Her up-the-scales signature signoff, "bon appetit!" was the first French phrase many Americans ever learned to utter with confidence, much as they came to glorify stew as boeuf bourguignon. She admitted she was "a natural ham," and it was clear that she not only loved the camera but was almost intimate with it.

But Mrs. Child had more serious cultural side. She was the first public television personality to win an Emmy and also held a George Foster Peabody Award; her other accolades were as disparate as a National Book Award and the Legion d'Honneur from the French government. When she moved from her longtime home in Cambridge, Mass., to a retirement center in her home state of California, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington took her famous kitchen: whisks, stockpots and 800 knives.
Click to expand...
(The entire article is available at the link above.)
 
Julia was a super lady and an inspiration to several generations of aspiring cooks. May God blass and keep you Julia.
 
When I was a kid it was commonly stated that Americans didn't appreciate fine food and couldn't cook it either. Not any more, think of all the cooking shows, schools, cookbooks etc that we have now.Julia Child started a revolution in this country and we have all benefited from it.I hope they have a very nice kitchen for her in heaven !
 
A wonderful woman who made cooking seem elegant, but never snooty. She gave the cooking profession cachet but kept things appropriately down to earth. Really, the passing of an era.
 
I always appreciate people who have a passion for what they love..Julia turned cooking from beyond preparing the evening gruel into something fun. Her love of cooking expressed her passion although she is gone..her legacy of passion for doing what you love should be a lesson for us all.

R
 
She will truely be missed.

Loved her humor, and her take on low fat food.... WHY??

Love it.

A bientot Julia.....
 
Truly one of the most influential Americans. Julia single-handedly woke America up to food beyond meat and potatos.

My personal favorite Julia moment came when Martha Stewart had a sort of live (some portions live and some pre-recorded) Christmas special some years ago. One of her guests making a cameo was Julia. Julia was already a bit old at that point, so she mostly watched as Martha made up some cookies. Remember, while Julia has a reputation as informal and carefree, she did care very much about one thing: the preservation of French-style cooking. This is a woman who wrote a book entitled THE Way To Cook. As Martha was finishing up the cookie dough, Julia made some comment like, "Well that's a very good recipie."

Martha replied, "I got it from one of your books..." And I thought to myself what a wonderfull, classy thing for Martha to do to invite Julia, her precursor, the woman who paved the way for Martha's success, onto her show and then pay tribute to her by making one of her recepies. And you could see from the glow on her face that Julia was flattered too.

But then Martha had to let the other shoe drop, "But I've improved it."

I couldn't stand the arrogance of it to think that she could improve on a Julia Childs recepie. And the look of horror on Julia's face was priceless too.

Martha was, of course, oblivious and just went on, "While these cookies bake, let's watch this video of ME and my friend Hillary decorating the White House for the holidays..." And off we went to the video.

When we returned, there were Julia (still obviously looking annoyed) and Martha standing with the finished cookies between them. Marth began, "I was just so excited to go to the White House. Everthing is just so nice there..."

And Julia seized her opening, "Oh, I know... I've been there many times."

And the look on Martha's face was priceless as the look on Julia's turned to one of satisfaction.

Oh, this nation will miss Julia, but she has left a permanent mark on us and we are better off for it.
 
RIP, Ma'am.

(Sorry, but and old SNL skit popped in to my head there for a moment..."Oh, good heavens; I've cut the Dickens out of my finger!")
 
I'm a damn good cook. I learned a lot from watching the TV cooking shows so I owe a lot of it to Julia. I read that her final words to her beloved husband were "So long, old boy!". I'd like to return the favor: "So long, old girl!".
 
She will be missed. She had a heck of a personality, she was always fun to watch. Even in her 90s, it was always amusing to watch her argue with her French cohort on the show.
Plus, all that butter and cream, living to 91... she's a model for us all :)
 
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