BACK TO INDEX | NEXT CHEF Julia Child revolutionized American cuisine through her French cooking school, award-winning cookbooks, and world-renowned television programs by presenting an approachable version of sophisticated French cooking to her eager audience for four decades. She began with a sincere passion for good food and the pleasures of cooking, studying in France in the '50s with chef/friend Simone Beck. With the help of Louisette Bertolle, another dedicated food lover, they created a cooking school called L'Ecole des Trois Gourmandes and later, in 1961, completed their groundbreaking cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Her book and the popular television show that followed made the mysteries of fancy French cuisine approachable, introducing gourmet ingredients, demonstrating culinary techniques, and most importantly, encouraging everyday "home chefs" to practice cooking as art, not to dread it as a chore. Host of numerous shows, including COOKING WITH MASTER CHEFS, BAKING WITH JULIA, IN JULIA'S KITCHEN WITH MASTER CHEFS, and COOKING IN CONCERT, toques off to Julia Child without whom American cuisine might still mean gray beef and mushy boiled onions. Julia Child passed away on August 12, 2004.