Julia & Jim
Not every landmark has to be a building marked officially by some institutional agency.
Landmarks in life can be moments in time marked by a calendar date, or a particular place that has special meaning to the individual.
The building at 81, rue de L'Universite has no historic marker attached to its facade, but
the address was as familiar to me as the Eiffel Tower. This is where Julia Child began her "cookery" career in the late 1940s.
Julia's PBS series The French Chef, was in its umpteenth season of reruns by the time I
discovered it as a teenager, and I fell in love with the zany, adorable woman. I became interested in cooking, food and Paris because of Julia and her television program. Cooking could have become my career, but architecture and design was in my blood, so cooking became my other life's work.
I read about "Roo de Loo," in Julia's memoir, My Life in France, which she was working on
at the time of her death in 2004. After reading her descriptions of the place, and all the recipes she created in that apartment kitchen, I had to come and pay homage. It was my personal Notre Dame.
Many American cities now have farmer's markets where you can get fresh, local food
products. In the late 1940s when Julia was starting her life of cooking, she had never seen anything like the food markets of Paris. The large central market Les Halles, one of her favorite stops, was bulldozed decades ago, but the great local markets still thrive, though they are competing now with the large, international grocery chains. Yes, even the French have been sucked into the corporate food shopping culture.
We have some wonderful farmer's markets in LA, and they come to different
neighborhoods on a designated day of the week. But Paris still has several streets and squares, which day in day out are filled with fresh foods, both familair and obscure, beautifully displayed. They are a visual treat.
Another trek on our Parisian food pilgrimage was winding our way to the landmark cooking
emporium E. Dehillerin. Julia spent many hours and francs here, buying all sorts of utensils and lots of copper pots. Today we have Sur La Table and Williams-Sonoma Cookware in malls everywhere, but there was a time when good cookware was hard to find, and Dehillerin was the place to go. I have to admit that the storefront looks like something out of a movie, but the store is a real as they come.
I have read Juila's book over and over. She inspired me to cook many years ago, and her
life story is just as moving. She took a chance and huge leap of faith in her cookery adventure, which proved to be the best choice she ever made. It was a landmark decision and she never looked back. Hopefully, our next life adventure will prove to be just as rewarding.
We close today with a note to our blogging friend Adam at Invisible Paris. Thanks for the
special mention, we truly appreciate your support. Invisible Paris is our touchstone to your beautiful city - we always look forward to your posts.
Posted by designslinger at 5/20/2009 7:45 AM 
Categories: Food, Architecture, Cities
Tags: Paris landmarks E.Dehillerin food markets Julia Child
Categories: Food, Architecture, Cities
Tags: Paris landmarks E.Dehillerin food markets Julia Child
I like the way you selected all the different elements and laid them out. They make much more sense that way. I know it may sound dumb but for example just the door simply wouldn't do the trick. Nice post too.
It's a pleasure. I think it's great when bloggers can share a perspective in somewhere, wherever we may be in the world. It's a lonely, virtual life sometimes, and it's nice to make connections!
I'm not familiar with Julia Child, but she certainly lived in a nice part of the city!