Okay, so one of the movies of this summer that I was most looking forward to was
Julie & Julia (click for trailer). I had read the book about a year ago, and being a blogger, home cook and semi- seasoned foodie, I really fell in love with it. And, with Nora Ephron behind the film, for me, it could really be nothing but perfect. I saw it a few weeks ago, and it really was perfect. Maybe not to critics, or to other people that had seen it, but to
me. There's something in this movie, as nerdy as it sounds, that I completely identified with, both the Julie side of the story and the Julia side.
The truth is, I've always had this thing about Julia Child. When I was little, I was raised on PBS shows like The Electric Company and Sesame Street, but I most vividly remember watching Julia Child on PBS reruns of The French Chef, and being fascinated with watching her (or anyone) cook. (When I told my sister in law Lisa this over the weekend, she said, 'Why am I not surprised?') I loved her goofy voice, she sounded like a cartoon character. When my mom would cook in the kitchen, I was always on the counter watching her and helping her measure and pour and stir. Cooking was fun for me and still is. I love to try new recipes, tweak them and make them my own. Do I know a lot of cooking techniques? Eh...maybe. Do I yearn to be a Cordon Bleu trained chef? No. Do I still make scrambled eggs for dinner sometimes? Yes. For me, there's something about being in the kitchen relaxes me and gives me a sense of accomplishment. It's a great way to end a stressful day, and I love the idea of something being home made and putting your heart and love in to it.
In seeing the movie and reading the book, I found that this is very similar to Julie Powell, the main person in Julie & Julia. Having a sense of fearlessness in the kitchen... mastering a really hard recipe or something you've made before that totally bombed and redeeming it with something new... its a great feeling. Nerdy, but great. Growing up, we did have a copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, (funny enough, mine is the same color as the one in the movie!) but I really don't remember my mom using it... I remember thumbing through it though, and not liking it as much as the Better Homes and Gardens red and white checkered binder style cook book with the COLOR photos.
I do remember one summer, though, when I was about seven years old, my Mom and I had driven up the coast of California as we had done a few summers to visit my older sister who was going to school in Northern California. On the way home, we stopped in Solvang to spend the night and walk around, and my Mom thought it would be fun for the two of us to drive to San Simeon to see Hearst Castle, nestled in the hills of the Central California coast. In order to get to the castle for the tour, you needed to ride this shuttle bus since there was no where to park your car on the grounds. We got on the bus, and instead of the rows you would find in a normal bus, this was more like one long bench down either side of the bus. My Mom and I sat down, and a few minutes later, an older lady came and sat next to me, sandwiching me in with my Mom. I noticed that people were whispering on the bus, and pointing... and I asked my Mom what the big deal was, and she discreetly whispered in my ear that it was Julia Child who had just sat down next to me. I didn't believe her, because the Julia Child
I knew was younger, and didn't have grey hair and wrinkles like this lady did... I guess I just thought that The French Chef was a current show or something. But looking further, it was, in fact
the Julia Child. She would have been in her mid eighties at that point.
Looking back, I really wished my Mom had snapped a photo. I asked her recently why she didn't and she said that she had remembered that Julia was trying to be very discreet and enjoy her day without anyone bothering her. She had wanted a little privacy. She had someone with her, but she couldn't remember if it was her husband or a care taker- type person. Oh, if only I had a photo. I assure you it would be framed in my kitchen right now. Right next to my copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Currently, I am reading
My Life In France, which is the "Julia" side of the story of the movie... all about her life in France and how she became the Julia Child we knew her to be.
I think this movie somehow made it all come full circle for me.
Now, I've rambled on forever, and I need to go fix some dinner for Mister who will be home soon.
As Julia would say, "Bon Appetit!"
