I recently completed My Life in France by Julia Child, which chronicles her adventures in food and life from roughly the time she arrives in France in 1948 until she publishes the second volume of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Going into this, I was completely unprepared for just how inspired I would be by this woman’s story. This, of course, is odd since Mrs. Child’s ability to inspire others is ostensibly the premise behind the blockbuster, Julie and Julia.
Reading the book has confirmed for the me two suspicions that I had while watching the film: first, that Julia Child is an enchanting and fascinating person, second, that the movie would have been better if it was just Julia. The problem is that the other title character, Julie Powell, is completely unlikable and un-relatable as a directionless young woman in a dead-end job, encouraged by Julia Child to pursue her love of cooking and start a blog…even to this directionless young woman in a dead-end job, encouraged by Julia Child, who loves cooking and is currently writing this blog! Because of this fatal flaw, what would otherwise be a completely compelling story turns into just a fun popcorn movie.
Despite this fact, I can’t help but tread the well worn path (of Julie Powell and millions of other fans throughout the world) and gush about how much Julia Child has affected me. Or rather, I should say, how much her approach to food and life in general has affected me. So much that I could easily see describing this fairly straight-forward memoir as a self-help book for aimless foodies.
I don’t want to go into two much detail, but there are two things that really stood out to me. First was the direction of her life. Julia Child went into cooking not in pursuit of a career, but because she was fascinated by it. And, in the end, her excitement about it turned out to be so completely contagious that she was able to create a successful cooking school, a best-selling cookbook and a nationally syndicated television show. Granted, Mrs. Child lived in an age and situation where she didn’t have to work, she could depend on her husband to support her and had the leisure to pursue her interests without an end goal in mind. But, it is still a great example that if you do what you love and make others love it too then you will always be successful.
The other thing that really fascinated me was the fastidiousness with which she approached food. She would test and retest her recipes like any good cookbook writer. But more than that, she would really break them down and figure out what made them work. She would make the same recipe over and over again making only the slightest variations (such as the type of salt she used). She was completely methodical, wanting to understand exactly how every ingredient interacted with the others. She was like a scientist in her laboratory, running one experiment after the other. This really speaks to the obsessive-compulsive inside of me who has been itching to have a lettuce tasting night where I sit down in front of a hand full of varieties (Boston, Bibb, iceberg, and romaine) and taste them in succession to really understand the differences.
But whether you are are looking for a role-model or can identify with her meticulousness, the book is still an excellent read simply because of the style and format of the writing. Along with her co-author, Alex Prud’homme, Julia Child provides a series of concise and entertaining vignettes in a period that spans over forty years. As always, Mrs. Child understands her audience so much she is able to give them not just what they want, but also what they need.
