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Julia Child at GBH

julia-child-the-french-chef.jpeg
WGBH

Cooking legend Julia Child introduced French cuisine to American cooks in 1963 with GBH’s pioneering television series, The French Chef. She was passionate about food and she changed the way Americans cook and eat. GBH is proud to look back at her accomplishments and how we helped to make her a household name. Explore the world of Julia Child here—from tributes to early programs to cooking tips and recipes. As Julia herself said, "Bon appétit!"

Julia was passionate about food and she changed the way Americans cook and eat. GBH is proud to look back at her accomplishments and how we helped to make her a household name and launched the entire cooking program genre. Explore the world of Julia Child here—from tributes to early programs to cooking tips and recipes. And, as Julia herself said, "Bon appétit!

About Julia

NET Festival; White House Red Carpet with Julia Child

An American in Paris

In 1963, a charismatic woman with a passion for French cuisine and an inimitable voice stepped in front of the cameras at WGBH and introduced Americans to the art of French cooking. More than a decade after her death, Julia Child continues to captivate the public's imagination.

She was born Julia McWilliams in Pasadena, California, on Aug. 15, 1912. She married her husband, Paul Child, in 1946. Paul joined the United States Information Agency and was assigned to the US Embassy in Paris in 1949.

While in Paris with her husband, Julia enrolled at le Cordon Bleu, where she attended French cooking classes. Along with two French friends, Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle, she co-wrote Mastering the Art of French Cooking, published in 1961, which aimed to make French cooking accessible to Americans. The three women also ran a cooking school in Paris, L’Ecole des Trois Gourmandes (the school of the three hearty eaters). That same year, the Childs returned to the US, settling in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Julia Child at Channel .png

"Bon appétit!"

It was on a 1961 promotional tour for Mastering the Art of French Cooking that Julia made her first contact with public television, as a guest on a GBH book review show called I’ve Been Reading. She arrived with a hot plate, giant whisk, and eggs and made an omelette on the set. Dozens of viewers wrote to GBH, wanting to see more. GBH writer/producer Russ Morash asked her to tape three pilot cooking shows, which she did in 1962. GBH put The French Chef on the air on Feb. 11, 1963, and Julia Child became public television’s first and most enduring star. Audiences fell in love with her wavering voice, fondness for wine and butter, eagerness to hack away with a knife, and customary closing phrase, "Bon appétit." The series ran for 10 years.
Julia Child with Chickens

A Culinary Pioneer

Among the other breakthroughs for which the series can be credited, it was on The French Chef that GBH first introduced captions for viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing. (WGBH has built on that 1972 milestone with many other media access advances for the 36 million Americans with hearing or vision loss.)

Julia's subsequent cooking shows for public television, which include Julia Child & Company, Julia Child & More Company, Dinner at Julia’s, and Julia Child Cooking with Master Chefs, have been aired and repeated without interruption ever since. In 1998, at age 85, she returned to demonstrating cooking basics in her own kitchen with her final series, Julia Child & Jacques Pépin: Cooking at Home. PBS has also aired two programs about Julia: an American Masters biography and Julia Child Memories: Bon Appétit, a retrospective of some of the most memorable episodes of The French Chef.

Television insiders credit Julia with giving birth to the "how-to" genre and carving a path for a cadre of successful TV chefs—and indeed, an entire cable channel devoted to cooking.

Learn the real history behind HBO's "Julia

Now the subject of the HBO Max series, Julia, explore what's fact and what's fiction.

Learn the real history behind HBO's "Julia"

Russ Morash & Julia Child

First 'French Chef' Director Russ Morash Remembers Julia Child

In 1963, a recent BU grad named Russell Morash, Jr. got his chance to direct a television show at WGBH and he ended up making Julia Child a new kind of celebrity — the star of a cooking show.

Learn More
Julia Child sips from large spoon

Slide Show: 5 Fun Facts about GBH’s The French Chef and Julia Child

Cooking legend Julia Child introduced French cuisine to American cooks in 1963 with GBH’s groundbreaking television series, The French Chef, now the subject of the HBO Max series, Julia. Julia was passionate about food and she changed the way Americans cook and eat. GBH is proud to look back at her accomplishments and how we helped to make her a household name and launched the entire cooking program genre.

We’re taking a look at what's fact and what's fiction.
Boston Gas Kitchen

In the Kitchen with Russ Morash: GBH’s Discovery of Julia Child

His French language skills were sorely lacking. While growing up, dinners at his house were overcooked fish, fowl and vegetables. He was a theater actor by training. So, what was this 27-year-old doing as producer/director of GBH’s The French Chef with Julia Child? We spoke with Russ Morash, now in his eighties, who is featured in HBO Max’s new fictionalized Julia series, about the early years of the GBH program, his relationship with Julia and what GBH was really like back in the day.

Watch Episodes of "The French Chef"

The French Chef and other Julia Child programs are available for streaming with GBH Passport.

GBH Passport is the member benefit that provides you with extended access to an on-demand library of quality public television programming, features current and past seasons of PBS and GBH shows — including drama, science, history and the arts. Watch anytime on GBH.org or on the PBS App.

Become a GBH Member today and activate your GBH Passport member benefit. Already a member and not sure if you have activated GBH Passport? Check your GBH Passport status.

More Julia Child Recipes

Watch: Your Favorite Chefs On Julia Child's Legacy

Watch: Chefs Pay Homage To Classic Julia Recipes

GBH's You & Julia series featured local chefs recreating some of Julia's most iconic dishes.

Julia Child Foundation