Julia Child - A Recipe of Life Part I

Hello all, today I bring to you an exhibit I visited back in the beginning of February. This one is one of those promise type articles for me because I told my friend @duvinca I would share my experience at this exhibit. She shared an article here about a recent T.V. series about the same person. So it took me nearly two months after reading her article to visit the exhibit and now two months later to post about it, 🤭. I did make it the day before they closed the exhibit, haha.

The first two pictures are of Julia with both of her parents in 1912. Her mother's name was Caro and her father's name was John. The third photo is of Julia holding a doll no date listed but it was a few years later.

Julia had a complicated relationship with her father. They disagreed on things such as politics and her path in life. Her father basically wanted her to settle down with a conservative wealthy man and have children. Julia sought for adventure and intellectualism.

She was a gifted writer, enjoyed it and dreamed of making it a career. In both highschool and college she found herself involved with the school's magazines. She became the the Sharing Editor for the Smith Tatler Magazine while attending Smith College.

After graduation Julia seeked employment to hone and put to use her writing skills. Unfortunately during this period in time newspapers typically didn't hire women as reporters. She did find work as a copywriter with W & J Sloane, a home furnishing dealer. This work did not give Julia any job satisfaction. A month after this photo was taken Julia was fired.

Julia headed back home to care for her ailing mother. Her mother would pass away later that same year, 1937. This would be a time in her life that she described herself as "drifting" and seeking purpose in life. Later she would find that adventure that was waiting which was far from home.

Julia was interested in serving her country as the United States entered into World War II. Due to height restrictions for women she disqualified for both the Women's Army Corps (WAC) and Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES), she stood at 6 foot 2 inches tall. She didn't give up despite being too tall, eventually found her calling with the Office of Strategic Service (OSS). This would be a major turning point in her life, leading to a new found interest in international culture and cuisine. In additional it lead to a new stage in her life meeting her life partner.

It can be said, behind every great women exist a man. In Julia's case this man is Paul. They met in 1944 while be stationed in Kandy, Ceylon. Initially there wasn't an attraction for each other. Paul described her as having a slight atmosphere of hysteria and being a sloppy thinker. He did appreciate her sense of humor. Julia described his physical appearance as not at all nice looking and having an unbecoming mustache and a long nose.

Throughout there time in Asia they grew on each other. Evidence is in the actual love letters they gave to each other displayed at this exhibit. They often dined out together and would write home about the cuisines they enjoyed together. Paul recalled when they began getting closer, "It wasn't like lighting striking the barn on fire. I just began to think, my God this is a hell of a nice women.

The food picture above is a reproduction of one of Julia's and Paul's final meals in Kunming, China (second assignment). It's Peking duck, Yunnan ham, cabbage, and mushrooms. The copper pot to the right was an exhibit you could smell Chinese spices by lifting the lid. Don't ask I didn't smell a thing, snuffy nosed day, hehe. Julia has mentioned several times that Chinese is her second favorite cuisine even though she didn't cook it often.

There relationship is summed up as having mutual admiration, respect and love. They both supported each other's careers and passions. They often signed letters with the name Pulia, cute right? After Paul's retirement he became more focused on his passion of photography and art.

I really got a kick out of the Valentine Card in the tub they made and sent to friends and family. Would you send such a card to family and friends? Well they sent out homemade Valentine cards every year featuring either funny photography, pieces of art and even poems. Over fifty years their love was documented through their creative and intimate expressions.

That's all I have for you this time. Next part I will show some of Paul's photography and art. I also will be bringing a lot more on our famous chef, Julia and some other neat things I seen.

Take care, stay safe and see you next time!