This year Julia Child won the nation’s highest civilian honor—the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her achievements as an educator who played a dramatic role in enhancing American culture.
The American Institute of Wine and Food, National Capital Area Chapter will celebrate the show that started it all:
— a screening of the original Boeuf Bourguignon episode from The French Chef series;
— a feast, featuring Julia’s boeuf bourguignon prepared by Chef Chris Stevens of the City Club;
— a remarkable panel that includes Julia’s television producer and personal assistant.
Julia gave us a new approach to culinary education and appreciation, conceived in Paris at the Cordon Bleu, honed and refined at WGBH, and dedicated to the proposition that “all Americans are created equal” with respect to appreciation for the pleasures of the table.
Julia Child brought alive and made accessible the basic techniques that characterize good French cooking in a way that has encouraged Americans to seek out greater variety and higher quality in the foods they cook and eat. The French Chef will demonstrate how Julia is no mere entertainer but rather a gourmet who takes her role as an educator seriously.
We have four outstanding panelists in addition to Ms. McManus, who will discuss Julia’s talent for educating the public and her influence on American cooking and entertaining. The panel includes:
— Geoffrey Drummond, who has produced all of Julia Child’s shows since the early ’90s, along with the “Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom” video being shown at the Smithsonian exhibit;
— Stephanie Hersh, who has been Julia’s personal assistant for over a decade;
— Rayna Green, who is the curator of Bon Appetit! Julia Child’s Kitchen at the Smithsonian;
— François Dionot, who founded L’Academie de Cuisine in 1976 and is a legend in culinary education who has taught generations of chefs how to make boeuf bourguignon.
Menu: Classic Julia: boeuf bourguignon, fresh buttered peas, roasted potatoes, green salad, bread, cheese course, dessert.
Price: $50 members/ $65/non-members. City Club of Washington is wheelchair accessible. Contact Quentin Looney at 2036 Pierce Mill Road, DC 20010. Phone 202-462-6234, or email qlooney@cpcug.org.
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Chef2Chef News Desk