I have to give my husband a lot of credit – he has really gotten on board, to a significant degree, with my obsession with the food world. Last year, while dining at Bobby Flay’s Bar Americain, he actually got up and went to introduce himself to Bobby and got a menu signed for me! That’s pretty nice, isn’t it? We drove way out of our way, two Septembers ago, to visit Chez Panisse – just to indulge my life-long yearning to tread in the restaurant of Alice Waters – to have my picture taken outside, to sample her cuisine! Yesterday, he texted me from the train to ask if I knew there was a big celebration in New York for Julia Child. Of course, I know the entire country is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Julia! I am friends with “her” on Facebook so I get all the updates on the festivities going on all around. George is pretty much a devoted reader of the Post – for the Sports, of course, but yesterday brought it home for me so I could see their feature on the week’s highlights in New York restaurants on behalf of Julia.
I think I have written here before, that I adore Julia Child – not just for all the obvious reasons, but because I used to watch her with my Mom, when I was an adolescent, in the afternoons on PBS. My Mom loved Julia (and the Galloping Gourmet – Graham Kerr) and considered her the icon of the age! This was my initiation into the world of food tv! Today, as then, I love the PBS food offerings and I will be forever grateful for the wonderful dedication of Public Television to the culinary world. As I have written before, I love the Create Channel, and watch their food and travel-related offerings almost daily. This, to me, is the best tv has to offer! I’m not kidding. I am a political-tv food junkie, but, I’d trade this any day for a couple of great food shows!
So, hats off to Julia Child – and a hearty Happy Birthday to the woman whom, I believe, deserves an Institute in her own name, dedicated not only to her memory and the body of the work she perfected, but to the undertakings and passion of the home cook. She started her own, as a Grant Giving Organization, but surely, she deserves one showcasing her work and impact. Somehow, it seems to me that there is some proprietary issue about who controls her body of work – I hope that is not the case.
I have studied a lot about the world of the professional culinarian over the past few years, but, in my heart, I am still a home cook – someone who loves to rummage through her own pantry and sit at my desk and imagine all the possibilities in the kitchen. I don’t think I will ever be cut out for the pressures of the professional kitchen. I, like Julia, just want to work and please those around me and offer them something great to eat in my own home. Kudos to you Julia – there’ll never be another like you – the whole package!