Julia Child; born in Pasadena, California as Julia Carolyn McWilliams on August 15, 1912.

Julia Child spent her early years in California, where she grew up and attended school. Julia Child’s first position out of college was with W. & J. Sloane as a writer in New York City. A few years in 1937 after her Madison Avenue debut, Child’s moved back to California, where she continued to write and work in advertising.

Julia Child met her husband, Paul Child, while serving in the OSS (Office of Strategic Services, forerunner of today’s CIA) in 1944.

Paul and Julia were married in 1946, and shortly thereafter he joined the United States Foreign Service. Paul Child had a taste for good food, probably in part because he lived in Paris before he met Julia. As a US Foreign Service employee, Paul was posted to Paris in 1948, where he introduced his new wife to sophisticated French cuisine. Julia described her first meal in Rouen, France, as “a culinary revelation.”

Paul’s job at the embassy would keep him away from Julia for most of the day, creating a void and a desire to compensate for his boredom. So, Julia started enrolling in many different classes. She eventually enrolled in the famous Le Cordon Bleu cooking school. She was not an easy task at first, since at the time she was in an all-male school, she had to learn to love cooking as much as she loved eating.

Julia Child’s graduation from Le Cordon Bleu gave her the opportunity to meet the two women who would become co-authors of her first cookbook “Mastering the Art of French Cuisine”; Simon Beck and Louisette Bertholle. The two had created a cookbook that featured French Cooking for Americans, but it lacked a proper English translation. Julia was asked to join the women and added her own translation and a special American approach to the manuscript.

Child’s kitchen was used as a training ground for American women to learn French cooking, and the trio began teaching classes and sampling recipes from Paris cuisine. During this time, Julia’s husband, Paul, was transferred by the United States Foreign Service to various locations in Europe. Julia moved in with him, while she continued to write the book and try new recipes.

Although they spent most of their time in Europe, Paul and Julia also spent their summers in Maine. Julia made her first trip there in 1947, visiting Mount Desert, where Paul’s family owned a 20-acre parcel. She continued to sample and write even while visiting Maine. And according to her brother-in-law Charles Child’s book “Roots in the Rock,” she used a stove nicknamed “John Henry” to cook her creative dishes.

It took eight years to complete and in 1961, after rejection by publisher Houghton Mifflin, Alfred A. Knopf finally published the book. The final cookbook titled “Mastering the Art of French Cuisine” had a total of 734 pages. It became a bestseller and put Julia Child on the map.

Julia Child’s career took off from there, when she began writing columns for major newspapers along with guest appearances on television leading to Julia Child’s first television show, “The French Chef.” The show first aired in February 1963, there were other cooking shows on TV at the time, but Julia’s was a big hit from the start. Eventually running for more than ten years.

Julia Child also wrote four more books: a second from the recipes she created on the TV show “The French Chef Cookbook.” The third book “Mastering the Art of French Cuisine; Volume II” came out in 1971, co-authored by Simone Beck (Louisette Bertholle was not asked to participate because the partner dissolved). And a fourth book that featured Paul Child’s photography of Julia’s kitchen and recipes.

Julia Child’s dominance was seen by millions on television shows in the ’70s and ’80s, but it didn’t stop there. She also produced a video series in 1989 called “The Way To Cook.” Julia Child’s cooking, experimentation, openness to new ideas and tools (the microwave, the food processor…) and her love of cooking inspired many of the best chef and television cooking shows on the present. Her love for cooking and food shined through on her many cooking shows.

You may remember Julia flipping an omelette that ended up on the counter, only to pick it up and place it back in the pan saying “if no one is around, put it back in the pan, they’ll never know, just stick it in.” …”