Fun
Knit to This: The French Chef
Dear Ann,
Before streaming platforms were a thing, my evening relaxation strategy was to turn on one of my 2 local PBS stations and watch whatever was on. It was a simpler time, and I am lazy. Sometimes I just want the feeling of company, and a shot of costume drama or a spry elderly detective will do just fine.
The latter-day equivalent of this passive channel-surfing (if 2 channels can be surfed) is PBS Passport. When I can’t summon the energy to sort through what HuluFlix is pitching me, I click on PBS Passport, where I find a manageable selection of wholesome programming (although some of the senior detectives have quite a mouth on them these days).
And that’s how I found this gem. Run, don’t walk to your PBS Passport account (which you might not even realize you have, but you might have if you support a PBS channel). Ann! They are currently streaming lots of episodes of The French Chef with Julia Child, from the 1960s to the early 1970s.
I’ve seen clips and single episodes before (possibly even when they aired in the 1970s, although we were more of a Baretta family)—but I definitely haven’t watched whole seasons, and I hadn’t ever watched them as a cook. Forget about Dan Aykroyd’s brilliant Julia Child, or Meryl’s or Sarah’s—the real Julia is even better. She had a dream, and she went for it, cleaver and tongs. It’s wonderful to see a whole industry and thousands of careers being launched right in front of your eyes. Julia is the original standard bearer for share what you love, teach what you love, love what you love.
A big treat is the show’s out-of-studio moments in France. In a 1971 episode on rye bread, we see footage of commercial bakers making levain bread in a basement so hot that they toil bare-chested and in shorts. Buckets of bread dough! A wood-fired oven into which pails of water are shoved to create steam! In an episode on cooking whole fish, a prim fishmonger demonstrates her special techniques for eviscerating and boning—and you realize how squeamish we’ve become about such things, whether we cook or not. Julia gleefully does it all, and she’s a brilliant teacher. I’m extra enthralled when she’s teaching a dish that I make myself, from one of her cookbooks, such as coq au vin or boeuf bourguignon. It’s somehow simpler, watching her do it as she narrates the whys and wherefores, the little tips and tricks. I always wondered about that X she carves in the root end of the small white onions, and now I know.
It’s also fun to see her kitchens and gear—we’ve come a long way, and we have such grand expectations of styling, on cooking shows and in our home kitchens. Julia doesn’t have a VW-sized Aga, she’s cooking with an electric range and two smallish wall ovens. Mixed in with the copper pots are a few that definitely came from the hardware store, and she doesn’t turn up her nose at using a Corningware casserole to make a big brioche, or an electric skillet—a square one just like my mom’s and grandma’s—for a fricassée. She occasionally says things like “if your supermarket doesn’t have tarragon, ask them to order it for you.” Quaint!
I miss her! I think I’ll weep into an “immaculately clean purple towel.”
Love,
Kay
P.S. I know I’ve written about this before, but this collection of Julia Child’s appearances on the David Letterman show is pure gold.
Thanks for the tip about PBS Passport; sounds like something I’d like. Happy WWKIP DAY!
I actually have all episodes of The French Chef on DVD. I wonder if I can remember how to turn on my DVD player?
I didn’t learn to cook growing up but my apartment mate had and she suggested a Julia Child recipe the first time I invited guests over. The chicken and rice dish was delicious and best of all the recipe assumed I knew nothing (true) and explained everything. For years it was my go-to and I became a huge fan of Julia’s.
We borrowed The French Chef on DVD from the library a couple of months ago. We eagerly watched every evening, and loved every episode. Think I may buy them so I can watch whenever I feel the need. Love her!
Oh, thank you! I’m happy to know this is on my Passport. Back in the 70s I faithfully watched Julia every Saturday afternoon. I rarely used her actual recipes even though I have her cookbooks, but I learned so much cooking technique. You’ve made me want to watch again. We are heading into a major heat wave. This sounds like the perfect stay-cool-inside activity.
We have always been supporters of public media (PBS, NPR, and our local public stations); Passport was an unexpected and very welcome gift that surpassed all the tote bags and coffee mugs we collected over the years for our support. It is a treasure trove of quality programming. And Julia! I love all the Julia Child dramatizations but nothing beats being able to see the original. She was such a genius in her ability to break down complex recipes and techniques into simple steps that anyone can follow while always being mindful of what her viewers/readers would have available by way of ingredients and equipment. Public Television and Julia Child, both national treasures.
You wrote exactly how I feel about Julia! I can add nothing more!
Julia and Mr. Rogers are two things that will always make my heart warm and a smile
to my face!
Julia and Mr Rogers have a very brief scene together in the recent HBO “Julia” series and it’s really quite thrilling.
My partner and I immediately sat and watched the clips, I wanted him to know about her. I never watched her show growing up but I do really appreciate her now, not least of all because of the battles she overcame just to get her show on to PBS in the first place. Plus she “invented” the technique of always having a finished dish ready, brilliant!
Not to downplay the wonders of the PBS Passport, but the free online streaming service Pluto has an entire Julia channel. All Julia, all the time, from the glorious episodes of The French Chef to Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home.
OMG, thank you! (now I can find out why an x in an onion)
We would come home after school in 1963 to discover my mother watching this new cooking show. My sister and I became entranced with it also. I remember one episode where Julia made Ratatouille and Moussaka which we’d never heard of but just the way she enunciated those words I can hear to this day. I never have Ratatouille now without hearing her voice in my head saying it. Thanks for the tip, I will tune in to Passport and hopefully get to see that episode and others again.
Ratatouille and moussaka – ha! 😉 For my mother and me, it was Ms. Childs’ enunciation of “blanquette de veau” that remains forever memorable!
I have PBS Passport but had no idea her show was on it! I have been devouring Julia on HBO and it made me long to see the original show – and now I know how I can see it! Thank you!
I just discovered that last weekend after finishing Annika! I started with the “Vegetables” episode and was charmed by her all over again.
Hi Kay,
I really enjoy your style. You seem to capture the Essence from the ether. I can almost hear and see the excerpts of the program. A friend long ago gave me Julia’s First 2 volumes cookbooks. She found them difficult. I learned a great deal from them especially how to improvise.
Thank you for your insight and recommendations. They go a long way to entertain, inform and sooth the soul.
PBS has recently launched a Julia channel on YouTube, as well.
True story – my 6 year old grandchild loves to cook. When she was 4 she told me that when she grows up she wants to be… who is that lady who says (and in a perfect intonation and accent) “Bon Appetite!”? Sadly she no long aspires to be Julia Childs for a brief moment, she kind of was.
My 5 yo grandson loves to cook; as do his parents & grandparents. We all believe in Julia’s suggestion to feed them everything from the start. He recently had his 5 yo check up and the pediatrician asked him what his favorite food was “ pasta with clams, but only fresh clams!” She’d never had that response before!
She it sounds delightful but if have to watch on mute. Her voice is like nails on a chalkboard to me.
I have passport; it must have been a free trial I got to cancel. I enjoy the shows but most of them are foreign language and some of those aren’subtitled. Since I knit, sew, embroider or some other work while I watch those are all out. It lowers the value of the subscription quite a bit.
There are hundreds of hours of Great Performances available via Passport, all of which make great Knit to Thises. Some of them are even – gasp! – in English!
Takes me back to the last century, Culver City, Ruth’s living room. Inspiring and laughing at the same moment. What a woman Julia was.
I can remember my parents watching Julia back in the 60’s. My mom had a pad of paper and a pencil scribbling down the recipes as Julia talked. No www back then to download recipes. My dad recently passed away and I got their copy of The Art of French Cooking. I‘ll cherish it and use it forever.
There is nothing more comforting in cool weather than a bowl of boeuf bourguinon. It is warming and delicious. The first time i made her coq au vin, i thought’ this is a lot of work, it better be good’, and then i tasted it! Oh it was delightful. i make them both frequently through out the year, and they have both held places of honor on out Christmas Eve table.