Like all Julia Child fans, I eagerly await Nora Ephron's new film "Julie & Julia" which stars Meryl Streep as the great lady herself.
So, with the August 7th release date less than a week away, I thought it might be fun to resurrect what I consider one of the most delicious interviews I've ever had the pleasure of doing: a 1995 joint conversation that I did for US News & World Report with the late Queen of Cuisine herself and America's then and still reigning Empress of Life Style, Martha Stewart . The two had joined forces to film a segment for the TV series "Baking at Julia's" which paired Child with other master chefs. While the ovens were heating at Julia's home in Cambridge, Mass. Child, then 83, and Stewart, then 53, took a break to sit in the garden and talk with me about good meals, dieting, butter, Twinkies and love:
Chesnoff: Are Americans infatuated with food?
Child: It depends on how you were brought up--whether you learned from childhood what good food is supposed to taste like. That's probably just one tenth of 1 percent of the population.
Stewart: I agree. But I also think young people today are much more adventurous. I was brought up with good, fresh, homemade food, but many of my friends were eating out of boxes and cans. Now, because of the health craze, people want something better. Look at the sushi and fresh pasta crazes. Young people really care what they're eating.
Child: But it all looks the same. I hate this contemporary cooking where you throw everything on a grill, and half of it is burned and half's raw. It's careless. I was out at a restaurant the other night, and it was all a julienne of bitter greens and red, yellow and green peppers; and then you have this sort of stuff sitting on the plate--maybe seared tuna and a bit of mango.
Stewart: Still, people are traveling more, discovering more. You go to Thailand, love the exotic food, then you come home and can find those ingredients in your own home market.
Child: That's true. We have an enormously wide choice of things in our markets today. But we have to get more people cooking at home and really interested in food and not scaredy-cats about everything.
Chesnoff: But isn't concern with cholesterol and "healthy eating" spoiling good cooking?
Child: People aren't taking a mature point of view. They say, "I don't eat butter; I heard it's bad for you." That's a lot of malarkey. It's the amount that's bad for you. You can have 2 tablespoons of butter and 4 tablespoons of olive oil a day. That's a lot! And don't do it every day. You can binge if you want, but you have to pay for it. But enjoy food and have fun!
Stewart: Your kind of cooking has always been extremely sensible. My recipes certainly aren't all fat, cream or butter. But eating to me is a balance of things. I sometimes have a natural craving for an egg or a piece of bread and butter--and that's all right. Anyway, I think people on these strict diets are less healthy.
Child: Then they'll sit down and eat a bag of Twinkies or something. The real trick is moderation, eating small helpings. If you're going to have a steak, have a little piece of really fine marbled steak. Have the real thing--not all this ersatz stuff! One of these health magazines was so proud. It had invented a cake that had only 230 calories. Well, what was it made of? You could eat a pear for 90 calories, and it would taste much better.
Chesnoff: What do you say to people who ask, "Why bother, it's just food?"
Child: Something unprintable. These people are like animals; they're feeding, not dining. You should enjoy the art of dining, having fun with your friends, the community of spirit, of being together at the table. Look at the French. Just having an hour or two to sit around the table makes a great deal of difference to the quality of life.
Stewart: That's why restaurants have burgeoned in the last 20 years. With people so busy at their jobs, making a meal isn't always relaxing. Sometimes I'd just rather go and sit down in a restaurant and enjoy a good glass of wine with food and talk.
Child: Chewing the fat! Of course, it's also good to be home with some good food.
Stewart: What do you like to make for yourself?
Child: Broiled chicken, or just a salad and a hamburger. I do enjoy a good hamburger. I try to eat simply at home so I can keep my "figger."
Chesnoff: Who's your ideal dinner partner?
Child: I'd have loved to dine with [the great French chef Auguste] Escoffier. He would have been a little short for me or Martha. But sitting down, it wouldn't have been so noticeable.
Stewart: The best person to enjoy a meal with is someone you're madly, passionately in love with.