Wishing for Julia
Even before I lived in Santa Barbara, Julia's 'other' hometown, I was lucky to know her. It started when she taught at the cooking school I ran for Ma Maison restaurant in the 1980s, and with the tantalizing invitation to come up to Santa Barbara for lunch. The relationship blossomed with our participation in the IACP and the American Institute of Wine and Food and, when I moved to Santa Barbara in the early 1990s, grew to a lovely friendship.
She was my
friend, and I would also call her my mentor. I learned so much from her,
and not just about cooking. It impressed me how she interacted with
people, whether we were standing in line to go to the movies or dining
at a fine restaurant. She was honest and interested in everyone, and
especially sweet with my family. I love that I got to cook for her a few
times. I wish it could have been more. I wish I could cook for her now.
There is a photo floating around of her sticking her finger in the pots
on top of my old O'Keefe & Merritt stove. The photo was hanging at a
Santa Barbara restaurant (in the mens' room!) for years, but has now
disappeared. I wish I could have a copy of that.
I’ll never forget the day that I was driving to an AIWF event in LA with a lifesize cutout of her in the passenger seat (we used it to help recruit new members; I used it to get in the carpool lane)… I stopped to wait for traffic and suddenly became aware of a street person looking in my window, “That’s Julia Child!” he said. Later I asked her if she could go anywhere that people didn’t know her, and she replied, France.
I wish I could have been in France with her, but I did sleep in her room when I visited Domaine de Bramafam, and old Kitty slept with me. I borrowed a Wallace Stegner book of hers, and I have to admit I still have it. I wish I could give it back to her. I was in Italy with her, a spectacular meal at my cooking school in Chianti. Besides our students, the guest list was impressive: Lorenza d’Medici, Carol Field, Nancy Harmon Jenkins and Julia. Julia always said it was the best meal she ever had in Italy. The chef that night was Sara Jenkins. We ate rabbit.
I helped Julia box up her many cookbooks when she moved to the retirement community. Some were auctioned off at an AIWF fundraiser, but many went to the library of the local culinary program at Santa Barbara City College, a special Julia Child collection that many friends also added books to.
I have been lucky to have many wonderful culinary experiences in my career, but a highlight was surely an event for KCET, the public TV station in Los Angeles. The event was called, “A Conversation with Julia Child and Pamela Sheldon Johns.” … Julia and –who? Michelle, the special events producer at KCET told me that Julia requested me to do this with her, which meant a lot to me. The three of us sat down for lunch prior to the event to discuss what topics we might chat about, and Julia suggested Genetically Modified foods. You must imagine that I went home and started studying this topic with zeal, formulating opinions and pithy comments about a subject that was relatively obscure at that time. When the moment came, Julia and I were seated in front of the crowd at the Biltmore Hotel, and she said, “You start.” So, I proceeded to say that we had decided to talk a bit about GM foods, and I looked over at Julia… “I’ve changed my mind,” she said. She cracked me up. I wish we could talk about GM foods now.
Writing this has been cathartic. I don’t think I’ve ever really entered the room of missing her. I’ve kept the door mostly closed, but now it feels good to remember. It was a great era for food, a time when it was about cooking, not so much about celebrity or sensation. When she passed away, a friend wrote to me, knowing how sad I would be, “She was your biggest fan, you know.” She was, right up there with my husband. I wish I could tell her that I knew that.
++++++++++++
Favorite quote from an interview, when asked what was her best-kept secret: "I don't have any because I'm a teacher. I should tell everything I know. You're not a very good cook if you have to hide something."
I’ll never forget the day that I was driving to an AIWF event in LA with a lifesize cutout of her in the passenger seat (we used it to help recruit new members; I used it to get in the carpool lane)… I stopped to wait for traffic and suddenly became aware of a street person looking in my window, “That’s Julia Child!” he said. Later I asked her if she could go anywhere that people didn’t know her, and she replied, France.
I wish I could have been in France with her, but I did sleep in her room when I visited Domaine de Bramafam, and old Kitty slept with me. I borrowed a Wallace Stegner book of hers, and I have to admit I still have it. I wish I could give it back to her. I was in Italy with her, a spectacular meal at my cooking school in Chianti. Besides our students, the guest list was impressive: Lorenza d’Medici, Carol Field, Nancy Harmon Jenkins and Julia. Julia always said it was the best meal she ever had in Italy. The chef that night was Sara Jenkins. We ate rabbit.
I helped Julia box up her many cookbooks when she moved to the retirement community. Some were auctioned off at an AIWF fundraiser, but many went to the library of the local culinary program at Santa Barbara City College, a special Julia Child collection that many friends also added books to.
I have been lucky to have many wonderful culinary experiences in my career, but a highlight was surely an event for KCET, the public TV station in Los Angeles. The event was called, “A Conversation with Julia Child and Pamela Sheldon Johns.” … Julia and –who? Michelle, the special events producer at KCET told me that Julia requested me to do this with her, which meant a lot to me. The three of us sat down for lunch prior to the event to discuss what topics we might chat about, and Julia suggested Genetically Modified foods. You must imagine that I went home and started studying this topic with zeal, formulating opinions and pithy comments about a subject that was relatively obscure at that time. When the moment came, Julia and I were seated in front of the crowd at the Biltmore Hotel, and she said, “You start.” So, I proceeded to say that we had decided to talk a bit about GM foods, and I looked over at Julia… “I’ve changed my mind,” she said. She cracked me up. I wish we could talk about GM foods now.
Writing this has been cathartic. I don’t think I’ve ever really entered the room of missing her. I’ve kept the door mostly closed, but now it feels good to remember. It was a great era for food, a time when it was about cooking, not so much about celebrity or sensation. When she passed away, a friend wrote to me, knowing how sad I would be, “She was your biggest fan, you know.” She was, right up there with my husband. I wish I could tell her that I knew that.
++++++++++++
Favorite quote from an interview, when asked what was her best-kept secret: "I don't have any because I'm a teacher. I should tell everything I know. You're not a very good cook if you have to hide something."
No comments:
Post a Comment