Event details
- February 12, 2022
- 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm
- Wade Hampton HS Auditorium, 100 Pine Knoll Dr, Greenville, SC 29609
- 864.244.1499
View Map | Cost: Free, registration required
Legendary chef Julia Child is coming to Greenville to stir up our passion for food and make us laugh. How did a six-foot two, 50 year-old woman with a squeaky voice become the first educational TV star? (Her show “The French Chef” was the first public TV show to win an Emmy.)
Julia Child challenged the way Americans prepared and enjoyed food. Not only will you laugh, you’ll discover a lot about the way we eat. And by the end of the show, you’ll know how to make a perfect beef bourguignon!
Bon Appétit!
Karen Vuranch weaves together a love of history, a passion for stories and a sense of community. She has been a Chautauqua scholar, actor and storyteller for over 30 years and has toured nationally and internationally with Coal Camp Memories a storytelling drama written from oral histories she collected about a woman’s life in the coalfields. Karen teaches at Concord University, where she is the Director of the Theatre Department.
In addition to television food star Julia Child, Karen also recreates historical figures including author Pearl Buck; labor organizer Mother Jones; humanitarian Clara Barton, Indian captive Mary Draper Ingles, 16th century Irish pirate Grace O’Malley, Wild West outlaw Belle Starr, beloved children’s author Laura Ingles Wilder, and American literary giant Edith Wharton. Her newest character is Gertrude Bell, archaeologist, and Middle East expert also known as the female Lawrence of Arabia. Potluck, an innovative show about the importance of food in a community, is performed with singer/songwriter Julie Adams and poet Colleen Anderson.
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- Jan 15, 1902 – Paul and Charlie Child born (twins)
- Aug 15, 1912 – Born Julia McWilliams in Pasadena, CA, eldest of three
- Jun 13, 1942 – OSS is established. Julia is a research assistant for the Office of Strategic Servicesent on assignment to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Met Paul Child
- Sep 1946 – Marries Paul Child.
- Fall 1948 – Paul assigned to the U.S. Information Service at the American Embassy in Paris, the Childs moved to France
- Sep 1949 – Enrolled at Cordon Bleu
- Sep 1952 – Started working on The Book with Simca and Louisette.
- Feb 1956 – Famous Valentine of Julia and Paul in the bathtub
- May 1961 – Paul retires from government service, they move to Cambridge, MA
- Oct 16, 1961 – Mastering the Art of French Cooking published. Considered a groundbreaking work and has become a standard guide for the culinary community.
- Jun 18, 1963 – WGBH filmed first three pilots of The French Chef, establishing Julia as a local celebrity. Soon The French Chef syndicated to 96 PBS stations.
- Spring 1965 – Receives both the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award and an Emmy.
- Thanksgiving 1966 – Cover of Time Magazine
- Feb,1968 – Lump in her breast, radical mastectomy
- 1970 – Honored by the Confrerie d Ceres in France for her French bread recipe
- 1979 – Guest on “Today Show” with Jacques Pepin – cut her hand rather badly with a knife – later needed stitches. Dan Aykroyd’s parodies this on “Saturday Night Live.”
- 1980 – ABC’s “Good Morning America” – first regular commitment to commercial TV –2 ½ minutes cooking segments.
- 1981 – Purchased a third home in California, where she will eventually retire. Given credit for revolutionizing restaurant eating in Santa Barbara
- 1989 – After Paul suffers a series of strokes – he finally goes to a nursing home
- 1992 – Julia turns 80 – 300 birthday parties given. At NY party, Boston Pops played music on pots, pans and whisks.
- 1992 – Works with Boston University to create degree in Master of Liberal Arts with a concentration in Gastronomy
- June 10, 1993 – Honorary doctorate from Harvard
- May 12, 1994 – Paul dies – coronary artery disease listed as cause of death
- Nov 2000 – Julia receives France’s highest honor, the Legion d’Honneur
- Aug, 2002 – Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History unveiled an exhibit featuring Julia’s kitchen
- Aug 13, 2004 – Julia dies at home in Santa Barbara, CA; 2 days before 92nd birthday
“I was 32 when I started cooking. Up until then, I just ate.”
“A party without cake is just a meeting.”
“I think every woman should have a blowtorch.”
“People who love to eat are always the best people.”
“It is hard to imagine a civilization without onions.”
“With enough butter, anything is good.”
“Find something you’re passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it.”
“Always remember: If you’re alone in the kitchen and you drop the lamb, you can always just pick it up. Who’s going to know?”
“I enjoy cooking with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food…”
“Just speak very loudly and quickly, and state your position with utter conviction, as the French do, and you’ll have a marvelous time!”
“The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook.
“If you’re afraid of butter, use cream.”
“It’s so beautifully arranged on the plate — you know someone’s fingers have been all over it.”
“The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude.”
Child quoting Oscar Wilde: “everything in moderation . . . including moderation.”
Books about Julia Child:
Barr, Nancy Verde. Backstage with Julia: My Years with Julia Child. NJ: John Wiley and Sons, 2007.
* Child, Julia and Alex Prud’homme. My Life in France. NY: Knopf, 2006.
* Fitch, Noel Riley. Julia Child: Appetite for Life. NY: Doubleday, 1997.
* McIntosh, Elizabeth P. Sisterhood of Spies: Women of the OSS. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1998.
* Shapiro, Laura. Julia Child. NY: Penguin Lives, 2007.
* Spitz, Bob. Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child. New York: Vintage Books, 2013.
Cookbooks by Julia Child:
* Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume I and II
* The French Chef Cookbook
* From Julia Child’s Kitchen
Julia Child and Company
Julia Child and More Company
* The Way to Cook
Cooking with Master Chefs
In Julia Child’s Kitchen with Master Chefs
* Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home
* Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom
Julia Child: Home Cooking with Master Chefs (CD-ROM)