By Paula Deen

People ask me all the time if I could meet anyone in the world, who would it be? I always respond that I wish with all my heart that I had the opportunity to meet Julia Child and cook alongside her. What she did to inspire folks to discover cooking is nothing short of amazing, and it’s something I can only hope to live up to in my life. It’s an absolute honor to celebrate her 100th birthday!

Paula Deen is America’s “First Lady of Food” as best-selling author, television show host, and inspiration to millions. She and the Deen family have built one of the most diverse and effective entertainment brands today, extending from restaurants to cooking products as well as home goods; with further lifestyle extensions planned for 2012.

By Jen Cafferty, So Simple Gluten Free

When I was young, my mother would watch Julia on the television while preparing our dinner. I can still hear Julia’s voice and laughter. I would sit and watch my mom make dinner and Julia would be chatting away in the background. It was from Julia (and a few other special ladies) that I learned that cooking can be fun.

Continue reading “Cooking Can Be Fun”

By Chef Marco Elder, Brasserie Du Vin, Honolulu

Julia Child has been inspiring me since I was a child. It first started when I spent summers in Maine at my grandparent’s home. My Grandmother introduced me to amazing French dishes like cheese soufflé, cream of sorrel soup and mouth-watering fish chowder. The inspiration for my Grandmother’s kitchen came from having met Julia Child at a country club they both belonged to and became friends.

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By Deborah and Robert Simon, a/k/a: An American Bistro

We were part of Julia’s 75th birthday celebration at the then famed Citrus on Melrose for 75 guests, in Los Angeles with Michel Richard. We had lamb on the menu as an entree, but when it came time to serve, it was discovered that the chefs had not turned on the ovens. Of course, Julia led the charge and we all pitched in to further butcher, then pan roast each of the 75 portions in record time, all the while drinking bottle after bottle of Chateau Lynch Bages to give us sustenance…

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By Tara O’Brady, Seven Spoons

Growing up in southern Ontario, close enough to the border between the United States and Canada, I spent a lot of my childhood watching the PBS station out of western New York. I come from a family of cooks, so cooking programs were what we watched on television, and Julia Child was often the person looking back at us from the screen. Back then, I didn’t wholly understand who Julia was — what she’d already achieved by that point (this was the 80s), or what she meant to the culinary world. She was simply this tall, funny, bossy lady with a trilling voice, who knew her way around a stove, who made delicious-sounding food but hardly made a fuss of it. She struck me as unapologetic in her opinions, and I liked her for that. And she seemed to genuinely enjoy the company of those who joined her in the kitchen, which made me like her even more.

Continue reading “Her Wit and Passionate Interest”

By Paul Qui, Top Chef Season 9 winner

Julia Child pioneered food culture in the United States and opened the door for Chef’s like me. I’ve learned to be fearless and determined in the kitchen and that the biggest hurdle is the fear of failure. But the most important thing is that cooking is about having fun.

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By Cory Gallant, Zestycook

Seven years old, standing on a wooden chair in the kitchen, baking biscuits and cookies alongside my mother on a Saturday morning. This is one of my earliest memories.

Did I immediately fall in love? I think I did.

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By Chef Jeffrey Paige, Cotton Restaurant, New Hampshire

Julia Child was one of my culinary mentors and treasured friends. I first met Julia on August 15, 1990 when I cooked her a birthday luncheon in Litchfield, NH on Ken Ryan’s organic vegetable farm. We would later cook again, this time to celebrate the publication of my new cookbook, The Shaker Kitchen, in September of 1994. Julia joined me at Canterbury Shaker Village where we taped a segment for Good Morning America. We kept up our friendship over the years through dinners in Boston and letters when she resided on the West coast to avoid New England winters.

Continue reading “My Culinary Icon”