Julia Child
Culinary Pioneer & American Icon

There are few people more influential in the innovation of American cuisine than Julia Child (1912-2004). A true pioneer, she re-introduced millions of Americans to French food and to home cooking. Over her more than fifty-year career as a cooking teacher, author and advocate, she became a beloved culinary icon.

Best known as the force behind the groundbreaking cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, co-authored with Louisette Bertholle and Simone (Simca) Beck, and the star of WGBH’s breakthrough cooking show, The French Chef, Julia taught millions to appreciate what makes for great food and to cook for themselves. Her passion and integrity made her both influential and endearing to the American public.

Julia became a fixture on the American food scene in 1963, and in the following five decades, she authored numerous successful cookbooks and starred in many public television cooking series. Julia was truly the first celebrity chef. Her career honors include a Primetime Emmy Award for The French Chef; several other Emmy awards and nominations for later series; the French Legion of Honor and the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom.

In her memoir My Life in France, Julia recalls ‘the most exciting meal of her life’ at La Couronne on her first day in France in 1948, “In all the years since that succulent meal, I have yet to lose the feelings of wonder and excitement that it inspired in me. I can still almost taste it. And thinking back on it now reminds me that the pleasures of the table, and of life, are infinite – toujours bon appetit!”

To learn more about Julia Child’s life and body of work, please visit http://juliachildfoundation.org/

About The Julia Child Foundation
for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts

The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts was created by Julia in 1995 and became operational in 2004. Its mission is to honor and further Julia’s legacy, which centers on the importance of understanding where food comes from, what makes for good food, and the value of cooking. Headquartered in Santa Barbara, California, the Foundation is a non-profit which makes grants to support research in culinary history, scholarships for professional culinary training, internships in food writing as well as professional development and food literacy programs.

Over the last decade, the Foundation has made more than $2 million in grants to other non-profits. In 2015, the Foundation created the Julia Child Award, presented in association with the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. The annual Award honors an individual who has made a profound and significant difference in the way America cooks, eats and drinks and is accompanied by a $50,000 grant from the Foundation to a food-related non-profit selected by the recipient.