Maeve Bauer, Contributing Author
The Virginia Museum of History and Culture opened the doors to “Julia Child: A Recipe for Life” and invited museum visitors to experience the flavors and scenes from Child’s life, Axios.
The exhibition opened on March 16 and ends on September 2. It covers Child’s life from her childhood to her career as one of the most famous chefs in history and highlights her influence on Virginia’s chefs, including Axios.
During the summer, the museum offered a 30-minute highlight tour every Saturday in August from 11:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., according to the VMHC website. The last highlight tour will take place on August 31st.
The aim of every exhibition is bring history and culture closer to more people, accordingly Tracy Schneider, vice president of marketing and communications at VMHC. The museum hoped to accomplish this through Child’s bold and engaging personality.
“Julia Child: A Recipe for Life” enabled the VMHC to highlight Virginia’s contributions and influence on the development of American cuisine, said Schneider.
The exhibition offers many interactive opportunities, including various copper pots with the smells of food that influenced Julia and the meals she prepared, so Tailor.
The pot lids can be lifted and guests can smell the aromas of this special cuisine, Schneider said. Visitors can also venture into Child’s kitchen, where there is a replica of her television and a camera.
Schneider claims there are many things that attract guests to the exhibition, she said.
“The generations who saw Julia on television – whether live or in the numerous reruns – will be drawn to the exhibition with a certain nostalgia,” Schneider said. “We often hear ‘I remember watching’ or ‘I remember watching with my mother, grandmother, etc.’ Julia Child’s vibrant personality continues to draw people in.”
Guests who don’t know her can still build a connection with her through food, Schneider said.
“Richmond is a foodie city, and there are so many people here who love unique culinary experiences,” Schneider said.
The tour begins with images from Child’s childhood and follows the rest of her life chronologically. Child found her calling later in life, and it was only when she and her husband moved to Paris that she fell in love with food.
The exhibition recreates the moment Child ate a life-changing meal in France, using a replica of the table she and her husband ate at, with visual effects and audio guiding you through the lunch.
Jeff Clark, a volunteer at the museum, led the tour and began by asking why a Julia Child exhibition was taking place in Virginia.
One reason for this, according to Clark Childs, is her influence on many Virginia chefs, including Patrick O’Connell, owner of the three-Michelin-starred restaurant The Inn at Little Washington.
“This exhibition is never empty – there are always people in it,” Clark said.
Clark attributes the exhibition’s popularity to the impact Child made, he said.
“People who watched her show just fell in love with her, many of them learned to cook with her cookbook,” Clark said. “She’s just a personable person that people are drawn to.”
Dawn Garrett, a visitor to the exhibition, was drawn to the museum because of her love of food, cooking and her admiration for Child.
Garrett felt the exhibition gave her a deeper understanding of Child’s story, she said. There were many details about her life that she didn’t know.
“I actually had no idea about her early years and that was really interesting – I didn’t know much about her marriage and her partnership with her husband,” Garrett said.
Paige Newman, the curator of this exhibition, spoke about the inspiration that Child had.
According to Newman, Child is credited with introducing French cuisine to American audiences, breaking down difficult cooking techniques by demonstrating step-by-step instructions while making her own mistakes on live television.
““Child was committed to encouraging new chefs and developing educational opportunities in the culinary arts,” Newman said. “She showed that anyone, regardless of background or training, can become a skilled chef with practice and experimentation.”
