The first cook outside my own family that I can remember was Julia Child.

Which still seems like a slightly strange sentence.

I was a kid whose priorities consisted mostly of street hockey, hockey cards and figuring out how long I could avoid going to bed. My heroes wore skates, not aprons.

Yet somehow, I would come inside, flop onto the couch and happily watch a six foot two woman explain how to make boeuf bourguignon.

Growing up in Ottawa, America arrived through WNPE and WNPI in Watertown, New York. Those PBS stations were my window into the United States. PBS felt less like television and more like a very well funded public library that had somehow acquired cameras.

Julia Child. This Old House. Sesame Street, which played a real role in helping me learn English. The Electric Company. The Victory Garden. And the occasional documentary about JFK, which somehow sparked my next obsession.

Looking back, it was quite an education.

I don’t remember exactly what drew me to Julia. (more…)