The CulinaryWoman Newsletter, 5/21/23

A new museum exhibit on Julia Child

Julia Child In Multi-Media

For a while last year, the entertainment world seemed awash in Julia Child. There had been a Julia documentary, and a Julia docu-drama series on HBO, all this in addition to an earlier Nora Ephron film and her nephew’s books about her.

Critics were asking why so much focus was being placed on a white woman from an elite background, when chefs of color never got as much attention. But, the love for Julia continues, in part because her joie de vivre was so infectious.

Last week, I got a sneak peek at a new traveling exhibition that takes a different approach. Julia Child: A Recipe For Life opened Saturday at The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Mich., and runs through Sept. 10. It is an imaginative look at Julia’s life and her influence on the culinary world that allows visitors to experience what it was like to be Julia.

Now, you may be wondering why an exhibit devoted to Julia is kicking off in the Detroit area, when Julia is most associated with Pasadena, Paris and Cambridge, Mass. The answer lies in the museum’s relationship with the show’s production company, Flying Fish Exhibits, said Kate Morland, director of exhibitions and performances at The Henry Ford.

Flying Fish, based in Australia, was responsible for creating some of the museum’s most popular shows, including Apollo: When We Went to the Moon, an exploration of the Apollo space program. As the Julia show was taking shape, The Henry Ford expressed an interest and lined up the sponsors to host it.

Getting to be Julia

If you’ve seen any of the Julia depictions, you know the outlines of her story, and the exhibit has plenty of documents and photos, some taken by her husband Paul. But this isn’t a one-dimensional, stand back and gaze affair. There are elements throughout that give a sense of what it was like to be Julia.

As Kate and I began our tour, Ziggy Goddard of Flying Fish was putting the final touches on an illuminated restaurant table. It was a replica of La Couronne in Rouen, France, where Julia fell in love with French cuisine. Pictures of each course are projected on the plates, and a light on the table brightens as the meal progresses, representing her epiphany.

Nearby sits a model of the bathtub in which she posed for a Valentine with her husband. It seats two, making it an ideal selfie spot.

Further on is a gigantic replica of the cover of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. The book opens to reveal illuminated recipes and techniques crafted by Julia and her fellow authors.

The highlight for many visitors will be a model of the television kitchen where Julia recorded her shows. Museum goers can get behind the counter, look into a camera, and try their own hand at being Julia. There is a “refrigerator” stocked with ingredients, and clever photos and material.

The museum’s cafe will be serving Julia recipes, albeit lighter ones for summer. and you can buy aprons, cookbooks and cultured pearls like Julia’s in the gift shop for $125 (there’s a French string bag for those on a smaller budget).

An idea for a future show

The exhibit will delight people who love Julia and maybe capture the attention of some young cooks. But given the flood of attention paid to Julia, I couldn’t help thinking if there was a person of color who might deserve equal treatment.

It struck me that the life of Leah Chase, the legendary New Orleans chef and restaurant owner, lends itself to a similar exhibition. Her story has inspired a Disney character, Princess Tiana, countless articles and documentary segments as well as her own books.

There is a small display devoted to her at the National Museum of African-American History, and various artifacts can be found in different places in New Orleans such as the Southern Food and Beverage Museum.

I’d be equally as interested in seeing her life and wisdom shared with museum audiences in a similar multi-media way.

In the meantime, come to Dearborn and enjoy this fun treatment for Julia, or watch for the exhibit to arrive in your city down the road.

An Update From Last Week

Remember my feature on community fridges, focusing on New Orleans? Sometime on Wednesday night, thieves made off with one of the Nola Fridges in Musicians Village, built after Hurricane Katrina to provide housing to local performers

According to David Roe, someone hoisted the fridge on a dolly and carted it off. It’s not the first time this has happened. If you’d like to help the organization pay for a new fridge or lend support, you can go here.

https://www.nolacommunityfridges.org

Emilia-Romagna Is Washing Away

The beautiful Italian region of Emilia-Romagna was supposed to host a Formula One race this weekend. Instead, the race was canceled in the wake of devastating floods. At least a dozen people died and thousand were left homeless.

Emilia-Romagna is renown among diners and cooks for its outstanding cuisine. Bologna has its pasta and meat sauces, Parma its famed ham and parmigiana cheese, and Modena the world's finest balsamic vinegar.

If you want to know more about aid for Emilia-Romagna, you can go here.

https://www.thelocal.it/20230518/how-you-can-help-people-affected-by-flooding-in-northern-italy

Should We Be Paying For Restaurant Extras?

The pandemic upset many assumptions about restaurants and the types of service diners can expect to receive. Now, Food & Wine magazine wonders if we are still getting too many freebies.

Writer Darren Cardosa argues that diners ought to be paying for more than a single accompaniment such as a lemon wedge or a soda. https://www.foodandwine.com/restaurants-should-charge-for-bread-7367698

“There is no reason a customer should pay for one Coca-Cola and then get four free refills. The sugar caddy on the table that is filled with Splenda, Sugar in the Raw, Sweet’N Low, and Equal is an open invitation for customers to restock their own personal stash of sweeteners, so restaurants should give those out on request only,” he wrote.

“And let’s draw the line on the coffee and ice tea refills while we’re at it; two refills tops and then an additional charge.”

He has a point, but you can also argue that nothing is free. It all shows up somewhere in the bill, or it should. I don’t think ordering a beverage entitles someone to an automatic refill of one, let alone four, and the last few times I have ordered tea or coffee, I had to request sugar.

Let me know if you have thoughts on this.

Keeping Up With CulinaryWoman

On Monday, paid subscribers read my tips for planting an herb garden in Red Beans and Advice. I subsequently wrote a longer piece for The Takeout on the same topic, which you can read here.

https://thetakeout.com/how-to-plant-backyard-herb-garden-pots-beds-advice-tips-1850447878

I ordered a little plaque to dedicate my planter to Maxine. The quotation is from Job 12: 7-12.

Hopefully, the frost we experienced last week is finished for the season, and good spring weather lies ahead.

I hope you are following me (@) michelinemaynard on Instagram. I’m posting a lot of my food photos there. Of course, you can email me at culinarywoman (@) gmail dot com.

We have some exciting news coming soon for paid subscribers, including our next giveaway. Thanks to those kind people who have supported the newsletter. I hope you will consider joining them.

Stay well! I’ll see our paid subscribers tomorrow with Red Beans and Advice, and everyone else next week.