the french chef

With the new movie, Julie & Julia, in theaters soon, I feel like there's been quite a Julia Child phenomenon going on. In this past weekend's NY Times magazine, the table of contents page had this photo {above} on it - and I LOVED it. How funny is this? This photo is taken by Paul Child {Julia's husband} and is on the set of "The French Chef" in 1963, the year it was first broadcast on American television. The mysteries of all television solved right here.

With this photo came a really interesting article, Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch by Michael Pollan. He writes how the popularity of recent food-related TV shows, like Iron Chef + Top Chef {both shows that I like, for the record}, make people more interested in food, talking about it and watching it on their TV, but don't bring them into their kitchen. The article also describes how Julia Child's show inspired so many people to try to cook things that seemed so daunting and foreign - and it resulted in an upgrade of food culture in America. Current cultural and social situations are different and it has led to people spending lots of money towards good food - just not for them to prepare themselves.

It's a good read, if you get a chance...{and just LOVE that photo!}
Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch by Michael Pollan

{Images courtesy of NY Times}