Things I loved and learned from Julia Child

My friend and hero is having a moment (again)

I love the above image of Julia Child at home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was taken in 1997 by The Boston Globe (thank you Getty Images). When I worked with Julia on BAKING WITH JULIA, this is what her office looked like, complete with the little hot plate for her coffee. At that time, the screensaver on her computer said: Crème Fraîche. Yes, we all love Julia.

Hello! Hello!

I don’t think a day goes by that I don’t think about Julia Child. And it’s what I said when a group of us Bulletin writers were asked about women who inspired us.

I didn’t grow up with Julia as so many people of all ages did. I owned some of her books, but at the time that I met her, I don’t think I’d cooked more than a few of her recipes. I think I’d made the potato and leek soup, the Queen of Sheba Cake and the boeuf bourguignon. I never told Julia this, but I don’t think she’d have cared.

I met Julia shortly after my first book Sweet Times was published in 1991. Through a quirk of fate and friendship, I was inv…