We both have height challenges... she was 6' 2" and needed cooking stations adjusted for her height to allow ease and comfort during her long hours in the kitchen. I am 4' 11" and also need stations adjusted for my height, yet on the other end of the yard stick... literally!!! Can you imagine the two of us side by side in the kitchen? If I were in her kitchen, the tippy top of my head is all you would likely see behind her work station! And if she were in my kitchen, she would be on her knees!!!
We both are absolutely passionate about cooking, following the 'rules' of cooking, while keeping our minds completely open to 'tweaking' recipes or trying different versions of any recipe.
We both married the loves of our lives, men who shaped us into the women we are and both our husbands encouraged us to follow our cooking quests with as much zeal as we can muster on any given day! Probably because both her husband Paul and my husband Joe have (had in Paul's case, since he died in 1994) highly developed taste palates and enjoy good food and wine from all over the world. They both truly appreciate the labor and love of good food. Both our husbands took us traveling abroad and introduced us to other foods and cultures. Both our husbands encouraged us to go to culinary school, however.... I've cooked all my life, Julia was 37 before she first entered a kitchen.
I must admit I am obsessive, compulsive and passionate... I do not think this is a disease or a disorder, and instead of being labeled "OCD"(Obsessive, Compulsive Disorder), I prefer to refer to myself as "OCP"(Obsessive, Compulsive, and Passionate). Julia was definitely anything but OCD. I think she was just OP.... obsessive and passionate in learning anything and everything she could about cooking and the French culture... she was not compulsive nor was she 'anal', in fact she was a 'mucker' (Vickie verbage meaning, a sloppy frump). I have a reputation for being quite anal... I just like things neat and orderly at all times. Chaos is not in my language. Chaos drives me absolutely crazy! Chaos makes me quite cranky actually!
Both Julia and I are quite adept at turning 'mistakes and/or flubs' into something presentable so that none of our eating guests would know the difference. Neither of us have any fear in the kitchen and both of us have that 'go with the flow' attitude. Rarely is anything we cooked so disastrous that it needs to be tossed and started over, yet... if it needs to be tossed and started over, we both would gleefully do so without a thought about it. Cooking is unpredictable on any given day and flubs lead to new creations and ideas... and flubs should be expected and should be thought of as nothing more than a really good lesson. I heard a quote once (by whom I can't recall) that said failures are only lessons to be learned and Thomas Edison made over 100 light bulbs before he got it right, but if you give up and have not learned from the mistake, it truly is a failure.
Julia describes herself as a large, loud and an unserious Californian. I would describe myself as a tiny, yet loud, unserious Southern Girl, who would rather go barefoot any day than to have to wear shoes! Both our husbands are milder in manner, quieter and more serious in nature, but always making us laugh with their priceless constant humor. A perfect blend for both of us!
I'm sure to find many more similarities and differences as I continue reading this book, but I find I'm very comforted by the similarities in our nature and personality. I'll never be the legend Julia Child is, but whenever I am compared to her, I will consider it the highest of compliments! I would love to inspire just one person the way she has inspired millions.
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