7 Curious Facts You Didn’t Know About Julia Child
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Julia Child, the unusually tall woman known for her booming voice, sense of humor and approachable cooking style, is an unforgettable icon for amateur cooks and professional chefs alike. She’s the one who taught Americans how to perfectly roast a chicken. She also put an emphasis on fresh ingredients, which encouraged Americans to deviate from frozen food trends and cook meals in completely new ways. She even brought French cooking to the American public through years of cooking shows and best-selling cookbooks, including the notable cookbook, “Mastering The Art Of French Cooking.”
And yet, Child maintained a certain air of mystery throughout her life. Here are seven curious facts you probably didn’t know about this cooking legend.
1. She was a spy during WWII.
Before Child become a master of all things culinary, she worked as a spy during World War II for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), which was a huge spy network created by President Franklin Roosevelt. (The OSS is the predecessor of the CIA.) During her time working for the OSS, Child developed a recipe for shark repellent that was shared across government agencies.
2. She was the first woman inducted into the Culinary Institute of America’s Hall of Fame.
Julia Child was the first to do a lot of things throughout her lifetime, but one of her more significant achievements was being inducted into the Culinary Institute of America’s Hall of Fame in 1993. She was the first woman to ever receive the honor.
3. Child became interested in food while living in China.
While Child was a spy during the war, she was stationed in China. And even though we think of French cuisine when we think of Julia Child, it was Asian cuisine that first sparked her love affair with food.
4. Child was a terrible cook until her late 30s.
Sometimes, your passion doesn’t find you until later in life, and Child is a prime example of late-bloomer success. After a career as a copywriter and her time working as a spy, the culinary legend fell in love with French cuisine at the delayed age of 36. Child was 49 years old when her first book, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” was published.
5. There’s a rose named after Child.
Rose master Tom Carruth created a flower just for Julia Child. Fittingly, the Julia Child rose, known in the United Kingdom as the Absolutely Fabulous rose, is the golden color of butter.
6. Her kitchen is in the Smithsonian Institution.
You can actually step into the culinary world of Julia Child at the Smithsonian Institution. Child donated her kitchen to the museum back in 2001. The kitchen has all of the original cabinets, appliances, cookbooks, utensils and gadgets from Child’s kitchen along with her kitchen table.
The influential cook used this kitchen as the set of three television shows, and it was her home base of all kinds of recipe testing for her cookbooks.
7. She won three Emmys.
Child won three Emmys for her work as an educator through her cooking shows. She won a Primetime Emmy in 1966 for “The French Chef” and two Daytime Emmys: one in 1996 for “In Julia’s Kitchen with Master Chefs” and one in 2001 for “Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home.”
Julia Child died in 2004, but her legacy still shines in countless aspects of modern-day cooking.
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