During our Spring Break visit to Washington, D.C., Duncan wanted to visit the American History museum. One of the exhibits turned out to be Julia Child’s kitchen.
I’ll be totally honest here, I’ve never spent quality time with Julia. I haven’t even seen that Julie/Julia movie, either. Shock! I know, I know…
I’ve got at least one of her cookbooks—I know that much.
But anyway, she was undeniably a remarkable personality who helped raise the art of cooking all while making it accessible on a national scale. She was already a legend by the time I started watching cooking shows.
And here, before me now, is her actual kitchen!
It’s like a normal, everyday kitchen. Much larger than mine—she could fit a table and chairs in there! And check out all those knives on the back wall. Apparently, they actually filmed some of her shows there?
Here’s the side view of her kitchen from another doorway.
Lots and lots of pots and pans, oh my!
Looking around the exhibit I see this display of her cookbooks. I would’ve thought she’d have published a ton of cookbooks throughout her career. What I’m noticing is this looks more like quality over quantity. Yeah, I may have a couple of those around somewhere…but not all of them.
There are several of these placards with interesting bits of information about Julia. This one explains all the knives on the wall.
“Knife Freak”—that’s hilarious! Plus, she was right there at the forefront when new home kitchen technology like the Kitchen Aid Mixer was introduced.
There’s another doorway on the opposite side of the kitchen. I head over and find Julia’s shelf of cookbooks!
You’d think she’d have a ton of them, right?
Not quite. Only a shelf and a tad more are actual cookbooks. They’re her cookbooks and I mean, literally…they are cookbooks by her.
Here they are: In Julia’s Kitchen, Cooking with Master Chefs, Julia Child’s Menu Cookbook, From Julia Child’s Kitchen, Mastering the Art of French Cooking Vol I, Mastering the Art of French Cooking Vol II, Baking with Julia, Julia & Jacques Cook at Home, The Way to Cook, The French Chef Cookbook, Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom, Victory Garden Cookbook, Larousse Gastronomique, World Atlas of Wines (Hugh Johnson), Composition of Foods and two copies of The Joy of Cooking on the second shelf.
Could you imagine having your kitchen be so important that it ends up in the Smithsonian? How about all your tongs and spatulas?! I think I’ll keep my eye out for more Julia Child cookbooks from now on! Bon Appetit!