Julia Child changed the way Americans think about food. It’s as simple as that. With her contagious enthusiasm for good food and home cooking, she inspired a whole generation of home cooks, and spawned an entire food TV industry. If she were still alive, Child would be celebrating her 100th birthday today (most likely with a perfectly-baked soufflé).
In Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child, bestselling biographer Bob Spitz recounts the fascinating and diverse life of this singular American icon. To herald the book’s publication and Julia’s 100th birth anniversary, we asked Bob to share his 5 favorite Julia Child quotes with NOOK Blog readers:
Julia Child was one of the most quotable sources since Will Shakespeare, so narrowing down my five favorite quotes was difficult. But here goes:
1. “I’m nothing more than a social butterfly.” Imagine – Julia in her thirties was a lost soul, nothing more than a pampered rich girl, a dilettante, with no goals, much less a job. Eventually she worked for the OSS, as a spy, but it wasn’t until her forties when she learned how to cook.
2. “If you are alone in your kitchen, whoooo is going to see?” During an early broadcast of The French Chef, while making a sautéed potato pancake, Julia accidentally flipped it onto the stove before fingering the whole mess back into the pan. Cooking became that easy!
3. “Never apologize for your cooking.” Julia believed that everyone was charmed by a homemade meal, even when she once served a dinner that resembled sheetrock and shoe leather. She simply smiled and pretended everything was fine as her guest wolfed down the food.
4. “Bon Appetit!” Believe it or not, this was never said in America until Julia used it as her sign-off for The French Chef. There is no English equivalent. “Good eating!” I think not.
5. “Save the liver!” Okay, Julia never originally said this. It was Dan Aykroyd as Julia Child on Saturday Night Live, but it became one of the funniest and most quotable Julia Child lines ever. In fact, Julia began to use it as she re-enacted Aykroyd’s skit in her own kitchen for friends, always breaking into laughter as she slumped over the counter.
Also, don’t forget to take advantage of the special birthday month offer on the Julia Child Mastering the Art of French Cooking NOOK App. For just $2.99, you’ll have access to 32 recipes from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1, 30 video clips from The Way to Cook video series, audio anecdotes from Child’s longtime editor Judith Jones, audio pronunciations of the names of French dishes, grocery lists, rare photographs of Julia Child and more!
A free sample excerpt from this book is available on the product page now.
NOOK owners: go to shop and search for “Bob Spitz” to download his bestselling biographies.
