Guest blog: Julia Child vs. the calorie counters
It鈥檚 heartening to see Julia Child鈥檚 鈥淢astering The Art Of French Cooking鈥� topping the bestseller lists 鈥� but a little hard to digest the company it鈥檚 keeping there.
Along with "Mastering," the New York Times hardcover 鈥淎dvice, How-To, and Miscellaneous鈥� list this week includes one other food-related title. It鈥檚 also about mastering: 鈥淢aster Your Metabolism,鈥� a weight-loss plan.
On the paperback bestseller list, Julia鈥檚 "Kitchen Wisdom" also arrived this week at #1. It joins others with longer reigns: 鈥淗ungry Girl 200 Under 200,鈥� a book of 鈥渢wo hundred recipes with fewer than 200 calories,鈥� plus the self-explanatory 鈥淐ook Yourself Thin,鈥� and, a two-year veteran of the list, 鈥淪kinny Bitch,鈥� billed as 鈥渧egan diet advice from the world of modeling.鈥�
At #10 we find a more caloric but equally depressing offering, a collection of 鈥渃opycat favorite recipes鈥� inspired by fast-food restaurants. Doubtless each has its own reasons for ascending the list, but none sound much like the sunny joy of cooking displayed in the 鈥�Julie and Julia鈥� movie that sent Child鈥檚 books shooting up the charts.
Watching the movie didn鈥檛 send me back to Child鈥檚 cookbooks this week, but, rather, to her biography. I鈥檝e been reading Laura Shapiro鈥檚 newly reissued 鈥淛ulia Child: A Life鈥�. It covers some of the same charming ground as the movie does 鈥� and much more. In her later years, it noted, Child groaned in a letter to an old friend that she was 鈥淭OO FAT!鈥�, and went on to a face lift in 1971, writing with relief about 鈥�(N)o turkey neck! No dewlaps!鈥�
I can鈥檛 believe Julia would have studied calorie counts or embraced a vegan weight-loss plan. But at least she was as human in her own way as the public that loved her.
Rebekah Denn writes at .
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