Product Description

You’ll love this intimate portrait of the inimitable Julia Child by Nancy Verde Barr, her executive chef and friend for twenty-four years. Brimming with anecdotes, memorabilia, and snapshots, Backstage with Julia conveys Julia’s generosity, her boundless energy, and her love of food and life. This loving memoir celebrates the adventurous, unassuming essence of the chef who seasoned American palates and heightened our appreciation of food.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #65821 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 285 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780470276372
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Barr (We Called It Macaroni) worked with culinary icon Julia Child for 24 years, starting in 1980 as an assistant to Child's monthly live segment on Good Morning America and remaining until Child's death in 2004. This delightful and sprightly backstage look at life with Child (a "Lucille Ball-with-a-rolling-pin character in the kitchen") describes Barr's work as an integral member of "the Julia team" that supported Child's "mind-boggling" schedule of demonstrations, media appearances and book signings. Barr skillfully illustrates Child's "extraordinary drive" in business, showing how "she never took her success or her audiences' acceptance of her work for granted," and how throughout her many ventures, "she maintained the integrity of what she was doing—teaching cooking." A delightful description of a day when the pair "gobbled down Double-Double burgers at the In-N-Out drive thru" illustrates how Child was "as down-to-earth, unguarded, and unselfconsciously outspoken in the company of friends as she was with the cameras rolling." By concentrating on the "memories of the Julia who was my mentor, my colleague, my friend; my story of what made her so special," Barr provides a sweet addition to Noel Riley Fitch's biography Appetite for Life and, recently, Child's autobiography with Alex Prud'Homme, My Life in France. (June)
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Review
"Backstage With Julia" is packed with endearing anecdotes, like the time Julia got herself and friends into La Grenouille not by dropping her own name but by calling her hairdresser, whose brother was a dishwasher there; how Julia would serve Pepperidge Farm Goldfish for hors d'oeuvres; and Julia on low-fat food: "The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook." Barr's voice is breathless. Her one true revelation? Julia didn’t love pasta. But we'd trade a chirpy tale or two for just some good plain writing. (New York Times Book Review, August 26th, 2007)

Barr (We Called it Macaroni) here offers a lovingly written memoir of her years working with and learning from Julia Child. As Child's executive chef for almost 20 years and a producer for Good Morning America and Baking with Julia, she is able to provide a unique glimpse into the early world of culinary television. Of course, she also reveals Child, who comes off witty, warm, and dedicated-to her people and her profession. It was Child's support and encouragement that enabled Barr to form a successful career out of a passionate hobby. The book's greatest strength lies in how Barr has captured the voice and personality of her friend and mentor; her stories about the woman, whether involving a stop for a hot dog at a roadside stand or the graceful way that Child handled mistakes, will enable readers to make a new connection to this larger-than-life figure who did so much to change the perception of food and cooking in America. Recommended for most public libraries. (Photographs not seen.)
—Rosemarie Lewis, Broward Cty. P.L., Fort Lauderdale, FL (Library Journal, May 1, 2007)

From the Inside Flap
In 1980, Nancy Verde Barr was drafted to help organize a Julia Child cooking demonstration in Providence, Rhode Island. Barr immediately hit it off with Julia, setting the stage for a relationship that would last twenty-four years—and transform Barr's personal and professional life forever. Now, in this engaging memoir, Barr takes a fond look back at her years with Julia.

At the time Barr joined Julia's team, Julia had long been a celebrity. But as Barr soon realized, Julia didn't act like a celebrity. Julia in real life was the same Julia everyone saw on screen—dedicated to the art of cooking, brimming with energy, and full of fun—only more so. Whether flirting with Charlie Gibson on Good Morning America, lighting biscotti wrappers on fire at an Italian restaurant, or stopping for a hot dog at ten o'clock in the morning ("Why not?"), Julia was the life of the party—and she invited everyone around her to join in the fun.

As Barr took on more and more work with Julia, she became not only a colleague, but a friend. Barr takes us along as she helps orchestrate television tapings, food photo shoots, and live demonstrations—and marvels at Julia's unflagging energy (no one was allowed to utter the "t" word—"tired"), her wide-ranging curiosity, and her special knack for getting past flubs and setbacks. We meet Julia's beloved husband, Paul, and their extended family of siblings, nieces, and friends, and see what it was really like to have dinner at Julia's (hint: you were required to help cook). And we vacation with Julia in Venice, discovering her mixed feelings about Italian food (she never quite saw the point of pasta).

Brimming with stories, anecdotes, and snapshots, Backstage with Julia captures the essence of Julia Child—her generosity, her high spirits, and her openness to new ideas and adventures. It's a loving portrait of a woman who changed the way Americans thought about food and brightened the lives of everyone who knew her.

Customer Reviews

Poignant, powerful and lyrical
Nancy Barr writes beautifully. This sweet-spirited account of her decades with Julia Child provides an insightful, well-integrated, honest, clear lens with which to get one more glimpse of the beloved Julia who inspired and taught so many of us, so well, for so long. Backstage with Julia is a joy to read. Then I headed to the kitchen and started pulling out copper pans, a chickeny chicken, herbs and quantities of butter. Thank you, Ms. Barr!

What a surprise!
The book caught my eye in the library, and I read it in a couple of sittings over a weekend (a speed I rarely attain). Though the auther clearly adored Julia, I felt it was nevertheless a transparent view. I found the humor in particular delightful: like the time they became lost together on an auto trip following Julia's road map skills (from a 40 year old map), and, when confronted with a street that ended abruptly with a large rock outcropping Julia exclaims "meteors!"

A great read on a relationship between genius and her clear headed "straight man."

book candy
As others have written, this isn't a deep read. More it is like a fan journal. The author clearly adored Julia Child, and the adulation can get annoying. I read it during a few evenings on the Puget Sound, sipping some decent wine. While the book isn't much, what I took from it is much. Julia Child found her passion in life and seized on it. While most of us don't come from the privilages that she did, the book so clearly inspires us all to make the most what we have to give. When I read the book I thought it a bit stupid, but as the weeks go by I find myself built up by the portrait of Julia Child as this incredible human being, who never said no. For anyone feeling lost this is a tonic.