Julia Child

Interview: Julia Child

About this interview – In her three hour Archive interview, Julia Child (1912-2004) discusses her early years in Pasadena, California and details her time with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS, forerunner to the CIA) during World War II. She describes moving to France after the war and becoming interested in French cooking, which led to her first book, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking: Volume One.” She describes her early television appearances, including a stint on Today, which kicked off a tour of local stations and led to her first PBS program, The French Chef. Child discusses her preparations for the show, what she hoped to accomplish with it, and how she viewed herself as a teacher. She recalls subsequent PBS series includingBaking with Julia and Dinner at Julia’s, reacts to the advent of The Food Network, and outlines what she feels is her influence on cooking in America. Michael Rosen conducted the interview in Cambridge, MA on June 25, 1999.