A Wine Story ...

Julia Child Interviewed by Marisa D'Vari

One of my fondest memories of living in Boston in the mid to late nineties was my connection to Julia Child. I was program director of the very active American Institute of Wine and Food, which she founded, and took delight in organizing some fantastic events for our group ...

Part 1 of Interview Clip
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Part 5 of Interview Clip
Audio of all Interviews Clip

    In the late nineties, Julia Child had many events at her home in Cambridge. You can see the decor in the video and in the picture above -- a nice, typical Cambridge home a bit time warped from when she and her husband Paul first moved there upon their marriage.

     Of course, the exception is the kitchen, where Julia worked her magic. You can still see the kitchen at the Copia American Center for Wine, Food, and the Arts in the Napa Valley, which is a near exact replication of how I saw it when she still lived there.


     Here I am in the mid-90's in Julia's kitchen. With me is Mark Allen, then chef of the Ritz-Carlton Boston Common. Now the kitchen has been dismantled and sent to Copia. Click image for an enlargement.

     In the interview, Julia talks about her support of Boston's hot young chefs, her love of butter (not the other spread) and her childhood in Pasadena.

     Oh, and here's some takeaway points from the interview.

1) If you are in your thirties and trying to find the right guy, relax. Julia didn't meet Paul until around that age.

2) It's true the key to a man's heart is in his stomach.

3) If you are trying to write a cookbook and receive a rejection letter, be cool. Julia was turned down by Houghton Mifflin several times before they agreed to publish it.

4) If you are invited to talk about your book on TV, make it interactive and try to cook something. Look where the omelet Julia made on WGBH got her.