The French Chef

The French Chef
Starring	Julia Child
Country of origin	United States
Production
Running time	28 minutes 46 seconds
Release
Original network	WGBH (producer) NET (1963-1970) PBS (1970-1973)
Original release	February 11, 1963 – February 11, 1973 Cooking Channel (2010–present) Gusto TV (December 2013–present)
External links
[{{#property:P856}} Website]

The French Chef is a television cooking show created and hosted by Julia Child, and produced and broadcast by WGBH, the public television station in Boston, Massachusetts, from February 11, 1963 to February 11, 1973. It was one of the first cooking shows on American television.

The show grew out of some special presentations that Child did based on the book Mastering the Art of French Cooking, which she had co-authored. The French Chef was produced from 1963 to 1973 by WGBH for National Educational Television (and later for PBS). Reruns continued on PBS until 1989, and were airing on Cooking Channel as of 2010.

Format

The French Chef introduced French cooking to the United States at a time when it was considered expensive restaurant fare, not suitable for home cooking. Child emphasized fresh and, at the time, unusual ingredients. All of the recipes used on The French Chef had originally appeared in Mastering the Art of French Cooking, but for the show, Child chose mostly the more domestic recipes from the book, although such showpieces as Beef Wellington, various sorts of soufflé, and some ambitious pastries also made it into the mix if they seemed within the reach of a home cook without staff.

The show was done live-to-videotape from start to finish, leaving little room for mistakes. The resulting occasional accidents became a popular trademark of Child's on air presence, used as "teachable moments" to encourage viewers to relax about the task's demands.

Certain elements became leitmotifs: Julia's fondness for wine; her distinctive voice; her staunch defense of the use of butter (with margarine invariably referred to as "that other spread") and cream; her standard issue "impeccably clean towel"; and her closing line at the end of every show: "Julia Child, Bon appétit!"

History

“ So good is she that men who have not the slightest intention of going to the kitchen for anything but ice cubes watch her for pure enjoyment. ” — Time magazine cover story from November 1966

When the show began, the budget was so low that "volunteers had to be recruited to wash dishes, and the food sometimes had to be auctioned to the audience afterwards to cover expenses."

In 1964 Child received a Peabody Award, crediting her for doing "more than show us how good cooking is achieved; by her delightful demonstrations she has brought the pleasures of good living into many American homes." In May 1966, her show won a Primetime Emmy Award for Achievements in Educational Television – Individuals.

The August 27, 1968 episode of The French Chef (rerun from an episode sometime in 1965) ended with the unexpected collapse of an Apple Charlotte.

The February 11, 1972 episode of The French Chef (on its ninth anniversary) was the first U.S. television show to be captioned for deaf viewers.

Film composer John Morris wrote the 2nd theme song of The French Chef.

List of episodes

Season	Episode	Subject
S01	E01	Boeuf Bourguignon
S01	E02	French Onion Soup
S01	E03	Casserole Roast Chicken
S01	E04	The French Omelette
S01	E05	Scallops
S01	E06	Quiche Lorraine
S01	E07	Fruit Tarts
S01	E08	Chicken Breasts and Rice
S01	E09	Vegetables à la Française
S01	E10	Veal Scallops
S01	E11	French Salads- Mayonnaise
S01	E12	Chicken Livers à la Française
S01	E13	Roast Duck à l'Orange
S01	E14	Chocolate Mousse and Caramel Custard
S01	E15	Pâtés
S01	E16	Aspics
S01	E17	Bouillabaise
S01	E18	Lobster à l'Américaine
S01	E19	French Crêpes
S01	E20	French Crêpes II - Suzette
S01	E21	Steaks and Hamburgers
S01	E22	The Potato Show
S01	E23	Soufflé on a Platter
S01	E24	Dinner in a Pot
S01	E25	Pâte à Choux
S02	E01	Caramel Desserts
S02	E02	Cooking Your Goose
S02	E03	Chestnut Cookery
S02	E04	Bringing in the New Year
S02	E05	Coq au Vin
S02	E06	Cassoulet
S02	E07	Vegetable Adventures
S02	E08	Puff Pastry
S02	E09	More about Puff Pastry
S02	E10	Fish Mousselines
S02	E11	Cake for Company
S02	E12	Artichokes from Top to Bottom
S02	E13	Elegance with Eggs
S02	E14	Cold Soufflés and Bavarian Cream
S02	E15	Case for Salmon
S02	E16	Broccoli and Cauliflower
S02	E17	Veal for a King
S02	E18	The Soup Show
S02	E19	Flaming Soufflé
S02	E20	Small Roast Birds
S03	E01	Timbales
S03	E02	Fish Filets Sylvestre
S03	E03	Babas au Rhum
S03	E04	Chicken Dinner in Half an Hour
S03	E05	Rognons Sautés and Flambés
S03	E06	The Mushroom Show
S03	E07	Veal Dinner in Half an Hour
S03	E08	Broiled Chicken Plain and Saucy
S03	E09	Lamb Stew is French, Too
S03	E10	Introducing Charlotte Malakoff
S03	E11	Hot Turkey Ballotine
S03	E12	Cold Turkey Galantine
S03	E13	Le Marquis au Chocolate
S03	E14	Vegetables for the Birds
S03	E15	French Tarts, Apple Style
S03	E16	French Jelly Roll
S03	E17	Bûche de Noël
S03	E18	Beef Gets Stewed Two Ways
S03	E19	Ham Dinner in Half an Hour
S03	E20	Croissants
S04	E01	Chocolate Souffle
S04	E02	Four in Hand Chicken
S04	E03	Brioches
S04	E04	Veal Prince Orloff
S04	E05	Great Beginnings
S04	E06	Turban of Sole
S04	E07	Strawberry Tarts
S04	E08	The Shrimp Show
S04	E09	Salad Fixings
S04	E10	Non-collapsible Cheese Soufflé
S04	E11	Quiches
S04	E12	Fish Dinner in Half an Hour
S04	E13	French Veal Stew
S04	E14	Improvisation
S04	E15	The Empress's Rice
S04	E16	Coquilles St. Jacques
S04	E17	More about Steaks
S04	E18	To Poach a Salmon
S04	E19	Invitation To Lunch
S04	E20	Beef in Red Wine
S05	E01	Your Own French Onion Soup
S05	E02	Chicken in Cocotte
S05	E03	Queen of Sheba Cake (black & white)
S05	E04	To Poach Sole Filets
S05	E05	Chop Dinner in Half an Hour
S05	E06	Filet of Beef Wellington
S05	E07	Apple Charlotte
S05	E08	More Great Beginnings
S05	E09	Roast Suckling Pig
S05	E10	More about Potatoes
S05	E11	Steak Dinner in Half an Hour
S05	E12	The Endive Show
S05	E13	Saddle of Lamb
S05	E14	Napoleons
S05	E15	Paella à l'Américaine
S05	E16	Dinner Party First Course
S05	E17	Dinner Party Main Course
S05	E18	Dinner Party Meringue Dessert
S05	E19	Soupe au Pistou
S05	E20	Quenelles
S05	E21	New Year
S06	E01	Génoise Cake
S06	E02	Petits Fours
S06	E03	The Mayonnaise Show
S06	E04	Swordfish Dinner in a Half Hour
S06	E05	Ossobuco
S06	E06	Sweetbreads and Brains
S06	E07	Asparagus from Tip to Butt
S06	E08	Operation Chicken
S06	E09	To Poach a Chicken
S06	E10	Mousses, Bombes and Parfaits
S06	E11	Bourride and Aïoli
S06	E12	To Poach an Egg
S06	E13	Roast Leg of Lamb
S06	E14	Lobster Thermidor
S06	E15	Speaking of Tongues
S06	E16	Pipérade for Lunch
S06	E17	Turban of Sole
S06	E18	Bouillabaisse à la Marseillaise
S06	E19	Napoleon's Chicken
S06	E20	Spinach Twins (color)
S07	E01	Cake with a Halo
S07	E02	Hamburger Dinner
S07	E03	Salade Niçoise
S07	E04	Turkey Breast Braised
S07	E05	Lasagne à la Française
S07	E06	Waiting for Gigot
S07	E07	How about Lentils
S07	E08	Fish in Monk's Clothing
S07	E09	Gâteau in a Cage
S07	E10	Cheese and Wine Party
S07	E11	Curry Dinner
S07	E12	Apple Desserts
S07	E13	Meat Loaf Masquerade
S07	E14	To Roast a Chicken
S07	E15	Hard Boiled Eggs
S07	E16	Boeuf Bourguignon
S07	E17	Strawberry Soufflé
S07	E18	Spaghetti Flambé
S07	E19	French Bread
S07	E20	More about French Bread
S08	E01	Vegetable for all Occasions
S08	E02	Pot au Feu
S08	E03	Pizza Variations
S08	E04	Begin with Shrimp
S08	E05	Chocolate Cake
S08	E06	Working with Chocolate
S08	E07	To Press a Duck
S08	E08	Flaky Pastry
S08	E09	Glamour Pudding
S08	E10	The Whole Fish Story
S08	E11	VIP Veal: Poitrine Farcie
S08	E12	Brochettes, Kebabs and Skewers
S08	E13	Rye Bread
S08	E14	Flaming Fish
S08	E15	Summer Salads
S08	E16	Lobster Show
S08	E17	Coq au Vin Alias Chicken Fricassee
S08	E18	Mousse au Chocolat
S08	E19	Quiche Lorraine and Company
S08	E20	To Stuff a Sausage
S09	E01	The Artichoke
S09	E02	Tarts aux Fruites (Fruit Tarts)
S09	E03	To Roast a Turkey
S09	E04	French Croissants
S09	E05	Soup du Jour
S09	E06	Terrines and Pâtés
S09	E07	Madeleines and Génoise Jelly Roll
S09	E08	To Make a Bûche
S09	E09	Le Cocktail
S09	E10	Gallic Pot Roast
S09	E11	Cheese Soufflé
S09	E12	The Good Loaf
S09	E13	The Hollandaise Family
S09	E14	Tripes à la Mode
S09	E15	Sole Bonne Femme
S09	E16	Orange Bavarian Cream
S09	E17	To Stuff a Cabbage
S09	E18	The Omelette Show
S09	E19	Elegance with Aspic
S09	E20	French Fries
S10	E01	Ham Transformation
S10	E02	Ice Cream
S10	E03	For Working Guys and Gals
S10	E04	Small Kitchen, Big Ideas
S10	E05	Coffee and Brioche
S10	E06	Brunch for a Bunch
S10	E07	VIP Cake
S10	E08	To Ragoût a Goose
S10	E09	Sudden Company
S10	E10	First Course Sit Down Dinner
S10	E11	Main Course Sit Down Dinner
S10	E12	Grand Finale Sit Down Dinner
S10	E13	Kids Want to Cook
S10	E14	Two-Dollar Banquet
S10	E15	Puff Pastry to Go

Companion books

Two companion cookbooks were written along with the show. The French Chef Cookbook was a show-by-show breakdown of the black and white series, while From Julia Child's Kitchen was a somewhat more ambitious work that was based on the color series but also added considerable extra material.

DVD releases

• Julia Child's Kitchen Wisdom (2000)
• Julia and Jacques: Cooking at Home (2003)
• Julia Child: America's Favorite Chef (2004)
• The French Chef: Volume One (2005)
• The French Chef: Volume Two (2005)
• The French Chef with Julia Child (As Seen on Public Television). WGBH 2005 [1] 3 DVDs, runtime 432 min. (2005)

• Julia Child! The French Chef (2006)
• The French Chef: Julia Child's French Classics (2012)

External links

• The French Chef at IMDb
• Cover: Julia Child – Nov. 25, 1966 from Time magazine