Cooking legend and cultural icon Julia Child, along with her pioneering public television series, The French Chef, introduced French cuisine to American kitchens. In her passionate and sometimes breathless way, Julia forever changed the way we cook, eat, and think about food.
Entertaining, fun, and real in a way that influenced every television cooking program that followed, The French Chef embraced Julia’s passion for food and teaching and reflected her joie de vivre: “If I can do it, you can do it…and here’s how to do it!”
Now chefs of all ages and abilities can share Julia’s love of fine French food and learn to cook some of her most-loved dishes with this special collection of 18 episodes from her original 1960s series, The French Chef. In her signature style and with bloopers intact, Julia demonstrates such classic recipes as boeuf bourguignon from her debut show, salade Nicoise, bouillabaisse a la Marseillaise, mousseline au chocolat, and many more delicious dishes.
Bon appetit!Three servings of practical cooking advice per one serving of nostalgia is the recipe for this 18-episode culinary collector’s item. The French Chef with Julia Child, the pioneering public television series which premiered in 1962, brought French cuisine to American kitchens without a dash of pretension. Child (1912-2004), a cooking legend and cultural icon with her 6’2″ commanding-yet-self-deprecating presence, leads viewers through some of her favorite and classic recipes with requisite humor and congeniality. The three-disc compilation is divided into Starters and Side Dishes; Main Courses; and Desserts and Other Classics, and includes several printable recipes from each category. In vintage black and white, the collection begins with “The Potato Show” and Child’s sage counsel, “When you flip anything you must have the courage of your convictions,” before she flips half of her sautéed potatoes onto the stovetop. Peppered throughout the collection are such reminders of why Child was so endearing: she let the camera roll through all her culinary disasters. In another show, “To Roast a Chicken,” Child lines up five headless poultry as if arranging for a family photo, while earnestly discussing the differences between a fryer and a roaster, the “full glory of its chickendom.” Even non-gourmands will find themselves captivated by such vintage entertainment, while passionate epicureans will relish step-by-step demonstrations of wonders such as boeuf bourguignon (from her debut show), salad Nicoise, bouillabaisse a la Marseillaise, and mousse au chocolat. (All ages) –Lynn Gibson
Buy “Julia Child – The French Chef” For Only $23.38
January 27, 2006
#1
I highly recommend this set of DVDs. Watching the Julia who I remember from my youth was such a joy. And the dishes she prepares are still outstanding. Kudos to whoever decided to release these shows. There never was, and never will be, anyone like Julia Child. Watching her perform some of her finest is a wonderful experience that can be enjoyed by the entire family!
January 27, 2006
#2
This is a fabulous collection of “French Chef” episodes — including the all important boeuf bourgignon. It was my friend’s favorite gift this year and has been part of her often repeated story of discovering Julia and the boeuf. But there’s so much more. With so many episodes, this collection is really a bargain.
January 27, 2006
#3
I was inspired by the movie Julie & Julia to find out more about Julia Child . As I’m an Australian she wasn’t a household name so to find discover her cooking sessions was very exciting. Watching the cooking classes you realise her quirky voice and personality were perfectly portrayed by Meryl Streep!! Aside from all of that the DVD is a delight to watch. Julia makes things seem so simple. Watching her techniques has been very useful and I now have greater courage to try her recipes in “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” !!
January 27, 2006
#4
This weekend my wife and I finally found time to sit down and start enjoying these original episodes. They are indeed wonderful and completely intact from opening title to closing credits. It would be helpful if the jacket itself had included original broadcast dates, and particularly had called out which was the very first episode (it’s on disk #2). The programs hold up amazingly well, the image quality is quite good. What a surprise to watch the earliest episodes where you see a washer and dryer unit as part of the kitchen room ensemble! And what REALLY makes these programs from the 1960′s and 1970′s impactful is that each program was run in real time from start to finish of the the cooking lesson! Compare that to what virtually every quality cooking show of the past decade has done (particularly on the Food Network), with much editing to move things along and hide the failures! This set is worth every penny.
January 27, 2006
#5
It is great fun looking back on Julia after all these years. She had a way of making French cuisine wonderfully accessible and her unguarded personality made this show a winner. Unfortunately, these segments are not presented in chronological order and there are a lot of gaps, as what you get is essentially a culling of episodes over a ten year span, some in color, most in murky black and white, that really don’t present Julia at her best.
The three discs are thematically presented as starters, main course and desserts. Six segments each. You get several of the episodes that no doubt inspired Julie Powell, including “Boeuf Bourguignon” and “The Lobster Show.” But, it is Julia’s “off-the-cuff” comments that make the show, especially the fun she has with her pet “Big Bertha,” a lobster that weighed in at over 20 pounds. Imagine trying to buy a lobster like that today!
A show like this was a wonder to many persons back in the 60s and early 70s, whose nearest store was a Piggly Wiggly or an A&P. She shows you how to use a bit of “Yankee ingenuity” to overcome some of the sticking points in the recipes or how to use a muffin pan in lieu of French tart dishes for cheese pastries, which she served up in her “Cheese and Wine Party”
The CDs are nicely packaged and there are some “behind the scenes” photos which are priceless, showing persons sitting behind the counter handing her utensils and holding boom mikes as she presents her dishes. One has to wonder how many scraps fell on them as she pretty much scrapes everything onto the floor afterward. My only gripe is that one doesn’t get a sense of continuity to the segments. You can go to PBS for more on the show, and catch the premier episode “Elegance with Eggs.”