Julia Child
Mastering the Art of French Cooking, The French Chef, American Food Icon
The Joyful Leo Chef
Julia Child learned to cook at 37 when she moved to Paris with her diplomat husband and attended the Cordon Bleu. She then spent 10 years writing Mastering the Art of French Cooking, the book that made French cuisine accessible to American home cooks. Her television personality — enormous, warm, clumsy in the most endearing way — is pure uncontrolled Leo joy.
Leo Legacy
- Mastering the Art of French Cooking: 1961 — co-authored with Simone Beck, changed American cuisine permanently
- The French Chef: First cooking show on public television — ran 10 years
- Presidential Medal of Freedom: 2003 — recognized as a cultural treasure
- Started cooking at 37: Didn’t learn to cook until mid-life — the ultimate Leo late bloomer
Child’s Leo joy in cooking was so genuine and enormous that it transformed American food culture.
“The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude.”