Julia Child, 1912-2004

Continuing with obituaries, here's one death that's had extensive news coverage: Julia Child's. But having been a fan for so long, I thought that I'd add my voice to the choir, or to the auidience pointing to the choir, by linking to the New York Times' extensive coverage of Julia Child. My fondness for Child comes from something best expressed by Sara Dickerman in Slate.

"In many ways, Julia's greatest contribution to cooking was not bringing French food to America. . .but in freeing Americans from the necessity of cooking for a purpose other than pleasure."

Food became more thoughtful, in the sense that that adjective can apply to the senses, with Julia Child.

And while it's old news, the blog of the Julie/Julia project, in which Julie Powell . . . well in her own word:

"Mastering the Art of French Cooking. First edition, 1961. Louisette Berthole. Simone Beck. And, of course, Julia Child. The book that launched a thousand celebrity chefs. Julia Child taught America to cook, and to eat. It’s forty years later. Today we think we live in the world Alice Waters made, but beneath it all is Julia, 90 if she's a day, and no one can touch her.

The Contender [Julie Powell]:

Government drone by day, renegade foodie by night. Too old for theatre, too young for children, and too bitter for anything else, Julie Powell was looking for a challenge. And in the Julie/Julia project she found it. Risking her marriage, her job, and her cats’ well-being, she has signed on for a deranged assignment.

365 days. 536 recipes. One girl and a crappy outer borough kitchen."