Author: Shirley1 (Page 1 of 2)

Shirley Liranzo

Finding your Beat

My beat is my inspiration, motivation, and dedication to cooking because of famous legendary chef, Julia Childs. She loved to show Americans that cooking was not a chore but an experience that she enjoyed. She loved food and her energy is what made her meaningful. “The joy she had while cooking was infectious and brought a new perspective to whipping up creative culinary delights. She inspired millions of Americans to put down fast food and pick up a French cookbook.” Julia found her passion after working in aircraft warning service and research assistant. She achieved many goals like creating a cookbook, hosting a show and most importantly, she found her passion. I look up to Julia not only because we have similarities and her amazing dishes, but because she is an example of finding her devotion later in her life, which I feel a lot of young people struggle to find especially in their 20’s. She did not find her passion until her late 30’s because she did not have to cook growing up. She was on television for 37 years and wrote 18 books. According to PBS, it states “In her late 70s and 80s, she collaborated with a young talented director and producer, Geof Drummond, to make four new series — “Cooking with Master Chefs,” “In Julia’s Kitchen with Master Chefs,” “Baking with Julia,” and with her good friend Jacques Pépin, “Jacques and Julia at Home.” Each series was accompanied by a companion book.” what is this quote mark doing here? These were some of the books that were published by Julia Childs.

I had a similar inspiration to start cooking. My partner(‘s) and I  my favorite activity was IS? to try out different ethnic foods in New York. We would text and send each other different ethnic restaurants in New York. One week we’d try an Italian restaurant; the next week we would try a Mexican restaurant, and so on. If we really liked a specific restaurant, we would go to the same place twice. We went to a fancy restaurant one day and our server was talking about how she loved recreating Julia Childs recipes from her famous cookbook “Mastering the art of French Cooking”. Because I was a beginner, I decided to try cooking steak with mashed potatoes for my partner one day when we decided to save money to travel. I knew my passion to cook started when he tried it, and he smiled. I knew I wanted to continue cooking and making others happy. The more I practiced, the better I got. Just like Julia, my partner motivates me and encourages me because he knows that I can get frustrated when I cook but reminds me that I always end up perfecting it the second time. His favorite phrase was, “Making a mistake is a step closer to success”. I knew I couldn’t be afraid to make mistakes, especially if I had just started to learn to cook something new. Mistakes make you stronger and confident. If you make a mistake, pay attention to where it happened and see what you can do next time so you are less likely to make the mistake again. I never gave up after I had a deep conversation with my partner. This was similar to Julia‘s saying “Learn how to cook—try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all have fun.” I used to take cooking too seriously, but once I made a mistake, I did not get discouraged. Julia wouldn’t be where she was if it was not for the hard work and mistakes she made when she first started to cook.

Julia also had a partner who XX (not that)  supported her. According to Smithsonian magazine, she was not a natural in the kitchen. Julia Childs used to only eat frozen food. When she met Paul, her husband, he worked for the US Foreign Service. In 1948, the couple traveled to Paris for Paul’s work. In France, when she had her first meal, her interest in cooking sparked. Her first experience with classical French cuisine and she loved it. She began cooking and found joy in making food. “She learned to cook to please Paul, attempting to seduce him with her kitchen prowess”. Paul helped her with every aspect of her cooking career. He was her manager, photographer, recipe-tester or illustrator if she needed him to be. She took cooking classes in France, and studied french. According to the author GBH, it states, “While in Paris with her husband, Julia enrolled at le Cordon Bleu, where she attended French cooking classes. Along with two French friends, Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle, she co-wrote Mastering the Art of French Cooking, published in 1961, which aimed to make French cooking accessible to Americans”. In her book, “My Life in France,” her most known recipes in her cookbook were french onion soup, potato leek soup, and chicken breast with a mushroom cream sauce. She took 9 years to write and publish her cookbook with her two friends. They began testing recipes for ten years. The ten years consisted of trial and error, re-writing recipes, and perfecting each ingredient.

As I was doing my research on recipes and I started cooking, I did not know where to start. I saw that some of her recipes were advanced in my opinion. For example, her famous Beef Bourguignon takes a lot of time and money. Some of the ingredients include beef brisket, white onion, bay leaves, mushrooms, beef stock and so much more. Julia recommends a good quality brand for her Beef Bourguignon recipe. I thought to myself, if it is a good quality brand, I know that the wine can mess with the taste when making Beef Bourguignon. I always kept this recipe in mind so when I had some knowledge in cooking, I could try it one day to perfect it.

After Julia published her book, she hosted her own show for American cooks in 1963 with WGBH’s television series, “The French Show”. According to GBH, “WGBH put The French Chef on the air on Feb. 11, 1963, and Julia Child became public television’s first and most enduring star. Audiences fell in love with her wavering voice, fondness for wine and butter, eagerness to hack away with a knife, and customary closing phrase, “Bon appétit.” The series ran for 10 years”. In her show, she would talk about cooking tips and recipes on how to prepare french food in a simple way. There is currently a competition series going on the food network channel, where Julia Child fans recreate Julia Childs recipes. The winner gets to go on an all-expense paid three month cooking course at Lee Cordon Bleu. The competition starts with eight chefs and one competitor is sent home every week based on performance until there is one person standing. The way the competition goes is in the first round, the competitors recreate one of Julias signature dishes with some guidance from Julia. They play a video that is presented on a big screen. In round two, competitors recreate a dish representing their own culinary point of view. They sampled each dish with judges Molly Baz, Cliff Crooks, and Brooke Williamson. They talk about their own story and their own personal connection with Julia Childs. This competition series can inspire more chefs and uplift others to not give up. Resident of Food Network and food streaming food content, Courtney White, says “At the same time, the series is also very intimate, with competitors sharing their personal food journeys and how Julia Child changed their lives; we cannot wait for viewers to experience this show.” With entertainment shows like this, not only can we learn from the competitors; we can also listen to their inspiration to cook.

In conclusion, by translating French recipes into English, Julia Child made the French culinary world accessible to Americans who could easily follow her instructions. She was dedicated to promoting food awareness and educational opportunities, and encouraging new chefs, in the culinary arts. According to GBH, “In 1998, at age 85, she returned to demonstrating cooking basics in her own kitchen with her final series, Julia Child & Jacques Pépin: Cooking at Home”. This shows that Julia Childs still wanted to be a part of inspiring others in the comfort of her home. I hope this gives a sign to others to stay focused on your goal and you will achieve it.

References

“Biography of Julia Child | American Masters | PBS.” American Masters, 15 June 2005,

www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/julia-child-about-julia-child/555/. Delysia.com. “What We’re Inspired by: Julia Child and Her Love for Cooking.” Delysia

Chocolatier, 6 Sept. 2019,

https://delysia.com/blog/what-were-inspired-by-julia-childs-legacy/.

“Julia Child.” Foundation, www.wgbh.org/foundation/julia-child.

Kerr, Mandi, et al. “You’ll Never Believe What Made Julia Child Become a Chef.” Showbiz

Cheat Sheet, 19 Jan. 2018, www.cheatsheet.com/culture/youll-never-believe-what-made-julia-child-become-a-chef. html/.

“The Julia Child Challenge: New Series Inspired by a Food Icon.” Food Network, www.foodnetwork.com/fn-dish/shows/the-julia-child-challenge. 

A word that I’m very big on is Perfectionist. I realized I was a perfectionist when I liked anything done a certain way. Everybody viewed me as a perfectionist because I would get anxiety when something is not done a certain way. When something did not go my way, I would feel like a failure. It started happening in 5th grade until the end of high school. I always heard the phrase “just try your best” but I thought your best is not good enough. When it comes to school for example, I was obsessed with getting straight A’s or B’s but nothing below. I was always fixing group projects by myself to make sure everything was in order. I would also always stay up late doing homework when it wasn’t necessary. It was very stressful for me but I knew once I got my grade it was all worth it. My family and friends told me it was not worth it to stress yourself too much on the small things because there are bigger things to worry about. Another example, apart from school, was cleaning. It was a chore that had to be done my way. No one helped me when it came to cleaning or organizing. After high school, more responsibilities like a job, harder work and relationships were all very overwhelming. This is when my mindset started to change but I still performed my best. To become less stressed, I organized/scheduled my week, set reminders, and set up for the day after. I started to look at everything differently. When I make a mistake I think “What can I do differently next time?” I realized with a lot on my plate, I was proud that I managed/accomplished so much. Throughout my journey, I learned I was able to achieve less and overthink more than actually accomplishing more. There’s a difference between unhealthy and healthy perfectionists. It was very unhealthy to fear failure, get depressed when anything did not go my way. Now, I take constructive criticism so I can grow and become a better person.