Taste: My Life through Food(28)

Watching someone cook on camera is fascinating, and these two people did it better than anyone in my opinion. The first is of course the queen of culinary TV, Julia Child. The second would be her prince, Keith Floyd. I shall begin by addressing the queen, as she always deserves to come first.





Julia Child


Julia Child changed not only what Americans cooked and ate but greatly impacted their diet of weekly television viewing. Her show The French Chef, which originally aired in 1963, was one of the first cooking shows on American television and lasted for ten years. Watching her expertly debone a chicken or make a tarte Tatin, often making mistakes along the way, made viewers feel that they too could create such dishes themselves. Her achievements in the world of food are staggering, from her first and seminal work, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, to countless others, as well as season upon season of shows hosted either alone or with other great talents, like Jacques Pépin, about the art and craft of cooking.

Much has also been written about her, including Julie & Julia, a wonderful book that was made into a film of the same name in which I was fortunate enough to appear. I don’t know that I have much to write on the subject of making the film that would fit these pages, but I can say it was a great honor to be asked by Meryl Streep and Nora Ephron to play the role of Paul Child.I It was one of those rare working experiences, not unlike The Devil Wears Prada, that one wishes could be repeated. (Obviously there’s probably one reason for this, but I won’t give her the credit.)

Anyway, ever since I was very young, Julia Child has always fascinated me. My mother tuned in to The French Chef religiously, and I remember watching with her and loving it. I don’t know, however, if it was my mother’s keen interest in everything that Julia did or Julia’s keen interest in everything that she herself was doing that I found so captivating. However, I do know that watching The French Chef with my mom was a way to spend some time with her, because with three kids and a full-time job, she was incredibly busy. In fact, we would often watch the show when she was ironing or folding laundry, as just watching television without doing something productive simultaneously was anathema to her. I personally still struggle to sit and watch a film because I always feel that there are too many tasks I need to accomplish. This strange sense of guilt makes no sense, because as an actor, writer, and director, it is my business to watch as much as possible. Yet for the most part, I only watch something while exercising or at the end of the night, when the younger kids are in bed, dinner is complete, and the kitchen is in order. However, at this point I am usually so tired, it’s a bit of a struggle to last very long.

Anyway, after that unnecessary information about my psyche, as Julia was working away on a batch of crepes or making a soufflé, my mother would comment out loud about her process. Asides such as “Huh, so that’s how you do that,” or “Well, I think that’s a little too much butter,” or “Isn’t she just so great?!” were heard as she flicked water from her fingers onto a cotton shirt neatly draped over the ironing board. My mother adored and admired Julia Child and in turn imparted those feelings to me, along with an avid interest in how someone goes about cooking a meal.

To that point, I remember when visiting my parents years later, I happened to catch an old episode of The French Chef. Because my interest in food had grown, I watched it with even more attentiveness than I had when I was young. But on this particular occasion, I was taken aback by my reaction when Mrs. Child bid us her ubiquitous farewell, “This is Julia Child, bon appétit!” My eyes suddenly welled up and I had to stop myself from crying. Why was I suddenly experiencing a powerful rush of emotion because a black-and-white moving image of a chef was saying goodbye to me in French? After a few moments, I realized that I was moved by Mrs. Child not only because she brought back happy boyhood memories of spending time with my mom but also because Julia herself was so genuinely happy to be doing what she was doing. I saw in that moment the embodiment of what I, and so many of us, aspire to. To spend your life doing what you love and doing it well. To achieve this is a rare thing, but for those who can, real joy is theirs, as is the ability to bring that joy to others through their chosen vocation.

Although Julia Child struggled in early adulthood to find a profession that suited her intellect, curiosity, and lust for life, as well as one that would make her happy, she more than made up for it over the years, from the time she made her first omelet to the time she wished us all a final breathy “Bon appétit!” She also inspired and made millions of people the world over very happy as well, including a mother and son in Westchester, New York, over fifty years ago.





Keith Floyd


American audiences may not be as familiar with Keith Floyd as they are with Julia Child or many of the television food personalities on today’s screens (too many, as far as I’m concerned, but who am I to talk?), but for the Brits and for me as well, Floyd set the gold standard for the television food travelogue. In episode after episode, he conquers the recipes of entire countries as he swills glasses of wine while eruditely displaying an encyclopedic knowledge of their cuisine.

If you have never seen his show, it is now easily found on YouTube and is a real treat for any food lover. The format of the show is basic. Floyd travels to a foreign country or a region of England and cooks classic local dishes in kitchens borrowed from farmers, landed gentry, housewives, fishermen, and chefs. He also often cooks “en plein air.” In one episode of Floyd on Spain, he cooks a pork stew in the Spanish countryside. In an episode of Floyd on Italy, he makes a local pasta dish in the piazza of a small Italian town, and in another, a fish stew aboard a fishing boat in rough waters. When filming in a public place, the handheld camera candidly catches the locals as they look on bewildered, amused, and even annoyed as this mad Brit in a bow tie and suspenders conjures up their traditional dishes with a booze-fueled fervor while prattling away nonstop to the camera.