Hero Spotlight: Julia Child

One of my heroes: Julia Child

Who was she?
Julia McWilliams Child was born in California in 1912. She was unusually tall (six feet, two inches) and worked for the OSS during WWII after her graduation from college. There she met her husband, Paul Child, and together they moved to France after the war where Julia first encountered fine cuisine... and found her calling. She is famous for making delicious French food easily accessible in America through writing "Mastering The Art of French Cooking" and starring in numerous cooking shows in the States.

Why is she my hero?
The more I read about Julia Child, the more I discover how passionate she was as a person! There are many recounts of her cheerfulness and drive while she worked for the government and that personality followed her through her marriage. No matter what I read about Julia and Paul, you can tell that they loved each other immensely and supported each other unendingly. From the pictures that Paul took of his wife to her unique kitchen to all those fancy meals you know Paul was eating, they were in this together and it showed. As she put it, "We had a happy marriage because we were together all the time. We were friends as well as husband and wife. We just had a good time."

Obviously, Julia was also passionate about cooking! I love her funny tips like "Always remember: if you're alone in the kitchen and you drop the lamb, you can always just pick it up. Who's going to know?" She used butter and cream and red meat and fresh produce and she taste tested her way through every bit of it! Learning about her passion for cooking has helped inspire my own passion for the delicious, even if I'm not quite up to beef bourguignon yet. ;)

Here are a few of my favorite Julia Child quotes:

"A party without cake is just a meeting."

"I just hate health food."

"With enough butter, anything is good."

"Cooking well doesn’t mean cooking fancy."

"This is my invariable advice to people: Learn how to cook- try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all have fun!"

"Cooking is like love; it should be entered into with abandon or not at all."

Who is one of your heroes?

(Image via Jaggar Mag)