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gallery
October 23, 2017

Candid Photos of Julia Child at Work

By Amanda Svachula

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Photo: Paul Child © The Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University

In 1948, one afternoon in Rouen, France, 36-year-old Julia Child and her husband, Paul, sat down at the oldest restaurant in France, La Couronne, for lunch, where she ate what she would later describe as “the most exciting meal of my life”: oysters portugaises, sole meunière doused in Normandy butter, a salad with baguettes, and a finale of cheese and coffee.

The lunch marked the beginning of the couple’s years-long stay in France. The couple moved after Paul accepted a new job for the State Department at the American Embassy in Paris, and soon thereafter, Child enrolled in Le Cordon Bleu. They dined on fine cuisine at restaurants like Les Deux Magots, explored Paris, and roamed the French countryside. His black-and-white images show Julia atop Parisian staircases, and cooking among friends. He also took pictures of Paris’s landscape — rooftop views and picturesque city storefronts. Their adventures and Julia’s training at Le Cordon Bleu inspired her iconic cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking, which made her a famous chef.

The book France is a Feast, out October 24 from Thames & Hudson, features more than 200 photographs taken by Paul in France, some of which are being published for the first time. The intimate images chronicle Julia’s discovery of French cooking and the French way of life, and show candid moments of the chef at work in the kitchen. Co-authored by Paul’s great-nephew, Alex Prud’homme, and Katie Pratt, the book also contains stories about the couple’s private life. Click through to preview the book.

France is a Feast: The Photographic Journey of Paul and Julia Child by Alex Prud’homme and Katie Pratt
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1 / 11 Photos
Julia in the kitchen London, 1952
Les Trois Gourmandes, (aka “The School of Hearty Eaters”) Julia, Simca, and Louisette, 81 Rue de l’Université, 1953
Julia at the top of the stairs 1955
A “roofnic" 81 Rue de l’Université, 1950
“Yum" 1950s
Salon Léo  1954
Julia Cassis, 1950
Julia on the telephone Aubazine, 1952
Woman washing Strasbourg, 1952
Paul and Charles Child Cassis, 1950
1 / 11

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