Article courtesy The Family Kitchen blog: Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking and accompanying TV shows inspired a new perspective toward cooking in the sixties. In book and hit movie, Julie & Julia, Meryl Streep reintroduced Julia Child to the masses, reminding us how much we love her. But as with any well-known public figure, there’s the on-air persona everyone gets to see, and presumably the personal life everyone wants a peek into. “As Always, Julia”, a collection of around 200 letters exchanged between Julia and Avis DeVoto, her friend and unofficial literary agent (introduced in the movie) allow us a peek into Julia’s thoughts and feelings. Their correspondence, in print for the first time, reminds me of a time when letters were a key means of communication, pre- cell phones, email, facebook and twitter. I do miss letters.
In As Always, Julia we get to follow the bringing to life of Mastering the Art of French Cooking in a frank, funny, agonizing way as Julia, beginning as a new bride in Paris, follows her diplomat husband as he is transferred between Nice, Germany, and Norway. There are wonderful, real photos of Julia in her home and on holiday. There’s commentary by the famed food historian Joan Reardon, addressing political, social and gastronomic issues throughout. For those who love to curl up in bed with a good cookbook, this read will go further – like a good novel, reality TV and a cookbook rolled into one. The book has been released on December 1, 2010 and can be ordered – at Amazon – and other know sources.
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