Customer Reviews

The French Chef With Julia Child 2

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OK...........so my French vocabulary isn't that good, but this DVD sure is something to behold!! LOVE LOVE LOVE this visual Julia library!

I dream of the title of "chef" and there is no greater role model than Ms. Child. She is THE hero upon which all other chefs have made their fame in culinary history. Her style, her incredible deadpan humor, and her encouragement to learn one of the greatest cuisines, make for a thoroughly enjoyable DVD.

The series began in 1962 and initially the public did not know what to make of this rather tall and quirky woman who dared to teach us the culinary world of French cooking. To many, France was the only place that had the ability to cook as such. But Ms. Child removed the mysteries and overwhelming sense of details that one felt was needed to produce French masterpieces.

You feel that you are in her kitchen and that she is speaking just to you. She has no airs about her, no pretensions, just a very earnest interest in showing you the incredibe world of flavor courtesy of our French neighbors.

You also need to take into account that this was the first real TV cooking series and that it was the start of the 60's; so much history was just beginning during that decade. So what was she going to teach us in the midst of this turbulence? Well, an awful lot.

There are 3 dics within this particular DVD. The first section is named "Starters and Side Dishes"; it covers:
1. Vegetable: The French Way
2. Vegetable Adventures
3. Elegance with Eggs
4. More About Potatoes
5. Terrines and Pates
6. The Hollandaise Family

The second section is "Main Courses":
1. French Crepes I
2. Cooking Your Goose
3. Roast Suckling Pig
4. Fish in Monk's Clothing
5. Cheese Souffle
6. Sole Banana Femme

The third section is "Baking, Desserts, and Other Classics":
1. French Crepes II
2. Buche de Noel
3. Croissants
4. Gateau in a Cage (WOW!!)
5. French Bread
6. VIP Cake

Disc number 3 was the best, in my opinion. If you would like to impress friends with desserts, go with this one. The "Gateau in a Cage" looks so beautiful, that her fun and friendly teaching style makes you realize that it is not out of your reach to make this stunning dessert!!

Another enjoyable aspect contained within this DVD is in part her self-effacing, deadpan humor. She doesn't worry about that she has spilled anything or that something is not releasing itself from the pan just right. Mistakes and problems happen and she lets you know that it happens to everyone, including herself. That's the beauty and comfort that is her secret. Just to give an example, who would think of using a sword to talk about cutting poultry? Why would ANYONE use a sword to talk about cutting poultry? Julia did.

Also contained on the jacket are photos of how the show had to be taped in that people had to be positioned just so on the set so that they could help her with certain segments but remain out of sight of the cameras lens.

I truly hope that they continue to make all the episodes from all her shows available as that would make quite a cherished DVD collection for anyone who loves to cook and/or bake.

To borrow from my queen: "Bon appetit!".

Addendum: A very, very grateful THANK YOU to a reader who asked whether there were printable recipes included and YES (!) there are; at the end of each disc are the recipes which can be downloaded; my deepest apologies for forgetting such an important section. These are the recipes that are included in the discs: (disc 1) eggs baked in ramekins/ molded eggs/ shirred eggs/ sliced potatoes baked in butter (disc 2) rolled crepes w/ shellfish stuffing/ shellfish crepes gratineed in a wine and cheese sauce/ braised goose (disc 3) Buche de Noel and croissants.

This is a culinary time capsule. I was one year old when The French Chef debuted on TV, and yet tonight I made the creamed spinach featured in the series, and not only was it simple, economical, and DELICIOUS (truly, like something I might have had in a restaurant), but it also used just a tiny bit of butter and a tiny amount of cream, and the rest was stuff you'd have on hand (plus the spinach).

This is an EXCELLENT way to be cooking (perfectly Atkins even). I topped it off with two poached eggs, just as Julia suggested, and that was dinner.

So many recipes today require lots of ingredients and you end up using only a portion of what you have to buy (usually only to find the recipe wasn't well written, could have been improved, and wasn't all that worthwhile). This is truly real-world and economical cooking, and even better than that, what you learn cooking one thing (in which you've learned a simple little technique and dish to add to your repertoire) transfers to cooking other things, and before you know it you're a good cook and INSPIRED cook, not having to stick slavishly to someone else's recipe, but just cooking based on experience.

There's excellent kitchen wisdom in this series to go along with the nostalgia, and I'm looking forward to trying more -- tomorrow for lunch, in fact.

It was also fun to hear Julia say things like that you could pick up a French omelette pan for $2.50 or so when the particular episode was made, and to correct herself to say "brown" a dish after saying "gratinee" and thinking (at the time) no Americans would know what she was talking about -- same thing with common cooking terms we know today like "bouquet garni" that Julia's audience was being introduced to for the first time but that today most any cook is going to know. Additionally, Julia makes suggested wine pairings that I'm certain still hold up today.

This series was particularly good for the episodes on vegetables and eggs, as, again, you will have a small repertoire of things to try that are easy, excellent, and use ingredients you're likely to have on hand or can easily and economically pick up.

Enjoy.

I have been waiting for years for these DVDs to appear. Julia Child was an amazing woman who inspired me as a young bride to cook. She was, in addition to being a superb chef, a wonderful teacher. Her techniques and the recipes stand the test of time. My daughter, an excellent cook in her own right, has heard me talk about Julia Child and now she has her own copies of both DVDs. My daughter had watched Julia Child as a guest on television shows but now that she has actually seen the "Master Chef" in action she appreciates why I have been in love with Julia Child for so long. Julia Child goes back to the basics of cooking, showing the techniques that you have to master to become a really good cook.

In an era when "inspired" American cooks were using unthickened Campbell's mushroom soup as a sauce, Julia Child was teaching viewers how to make the crayfish butter to bind the sauce for écrevisses à la Nantua.

This wonderful series, only slightly dated by the occasional reference to the difficulty of finding certain ingredients, like shallots, which have now become commonplace, still provides an excellent demonstration of techniques and recipes. And Julia's casual style and enthusiasm are irresistible.

My only complaint with this and the companion volume is that some fool decided to arrange the episodes by type of dish rather than chronologically. Hence, one misses the nostalgia of seeing the development and gradual improvement of all aspects of the show. In spite of that flaw, this a set to treasure.

I'm sorry, but I cannot see the appeal of current Julia wannabes like Giada, Nigella, Rachel, etc. Julia was the best at her craft - she knew how to do it and do it right and in a way that appealed to the average wife/mother/womnan-on-the-go. Certainly Julia was the catalyst for the current crop of celebrity chefs; however, there was an openess with Julia that radiates through her shows; unlike someone like Ina Garten, who just leaves me feeling cold and distant. So, foodies, enjoy your uppity celebs who happen to cook - I'll keep my Julia, simply because she was the best!

This is a humble collection of America's chef of all times, Julia Child. It contains 3 dvds with a random (there must have been a key but for a fresh viewer, it looks like random) selection of 18 episodes of her TV cooking show presented on TV in the 60s and 70s.

Though the espisodes were recorded and televized over 40 years ago, and most of them are just black-and-white, you would certainly not have a feeling that they are outdated. Well, the art of cooking is universal and timeless and if we speak of French cuisine, of which we should in this context, it is a classic view that Julia presents.

Julia Child shows you how to prepare vegetables, a roast goose, French savory crepes and even how to bake a piglet. You will see the very classic approach to cuisine, maybe with a little bit too much butter and too little olive oil, but maybe it is just the north-France approach where they cook with butter not olive oil :) Anyway, it is a new face of American cuisine inspired the French way by Julia Child.

A must-have for a fan of good cooking.

We used to watch Julia Child on PBS when we were kids, and my brother, sister and I all learned to cook along with Mom from this quirky lady with the warbly voice and indomitable sense of humor.

The great thing is now I can review some of her classics on DVD. For example, the Buche de Noel is very wonderful; a chocolate cake decorated with piped meringue mushrooms and something that really dresses up the Christmas table. Likewise, you can review the best method to make crepes, which we always find very versatile. For example, they can be filled with a chicken mixture and baked in a cream-cheese sauce or filled with seafood. They even make a decent manicotti with ricotta filling and tomato sauce.

I still use the Mastering the Art of French cooking books all the time, but these episodes of Julia are a real joy.

Watching Julia make her recipes is both instructional as well as hilarious at times. There was no one like her. She so enjoyed cooking, and makes it fun. Highly recommended, and you'll come out with some great meals. BUY IT and watch it with another foodie that you know.

I had no idea how really gifted Julia Child was as a chef until I watched this DVD of her technique. It was so inspirational watching her make croissants from scratch and soufflés. All of her recipes are rendered with such charm, making this disc irresistible. She really does make people want to learn not only how to cook but how to cook better. I recall my Mom watching her back in the 70's and feverishly writing down her recipes so she could try them out on us. They were always so delicious. No wonder I thought my Mom was the greatest cook; she was imitating Julia Child week after week.

Thanks, Julia. You've made the culinary world more understandable for the average person and much more enjoyable.

and Julia makes it so easy. you will be successful if you follow the easy to understand directions. Just follow them. and when she says to premeasure things do it and it will be even easier and you put your creation together.