Bon Appetit Editrix Barbara Fairchild on Sunday Brunch 7/19

In the August Issue of Bon Appetit magazine the surface theme is fresh, light ideas for summer ( including a week of no-cook dinners (p.78)!) and the cover shot of the Ultimate Turkey Burger (p.48). In hot hazy hunger you might miss the most important news in the issue. In the Letter from the Editor, the incomparable Barbara Fairchild makes the case why Julia Child still matters. And in the month that marks what would have been Julia's 97th birthday ( August 15th) we are reintroduced to the impressive life's work of the woman to whom we all owe a cultural debt of gratitude. The one-and-only Julia Child. Barbara Fairchild knew Julia and spent treasured time in her company at table and in the kitchen. She saw firsthand the powerful, multi-generational impact Julia had. It was intense, universal and to Julia herself it was even a bit surprising.

On August 7th, Julie & Julia opens in theaters with the living legend Meryl Streep as Julia Child and Amy Adams as the one-of-a-kind Julie Powell upon whose inspirational blog and book the movie is based. I have my own Julie Powell & Julia Child connections including Trick-or-Treating at Julia Child's Cambridge home(I have long since forgotten what the Halloween candy given out was) and presenting Julie with her James Beard Award for her blogging in the early days of the blogosphere's notice from the venerable JBF. (Julie made the evening's most memorable acceptance speech: she cursed in utter shock at winning and then cursed again for being so uncouth as to curse in front of the most assembled bold faced names in food, with me standing to the side on stage with the winner envelope in my hand) But that part of the movie was left on the cutting room floor ( I wonder who they got to play me?).

While I was fortunate to know Julia Child, I am equally fortunate to know Barbara Fairchild. I see many similarities in these 2 great women. Like Julia, Barbara is unfailingly generous, gracious and seemingly surprised by the anonymous and suddenly in person gratitude of cooks everywhere and the scope of her inspiration to legions of young ( and like me not so young ) women in the food media business. Of course we all have to thank Julia, but we have to thank Barbara as well. Thank you for inspiring us all and challenging us to do ever-better work. For raising the bar one step ahead of our booming culinary culture and for making that world seem ( and be) accessible for so many of us. Actually that is exactly the lesson Julia would have been most proud of, and it is clear that Barbara Fairchild was paying attention and taking notes during those sessions with Julia. Julia was generous with her time and teaching because she wanted us all to have a place at the table and for that table to get broader and longer for us all. At Bon Appetit Barbara makes it possible for us to participate (as Julia wished us to do) in the conversation. She makes us part of the culinary community. Like Jullia she is all about inclusion and genuine welcoming.

So join me this Sunday at 2pm pacific time where Bon Appetit Editor-in-Chief Barbara Fairchild generously makes time to visit with us and continue the conversation. We will celebrate the August issue and the idea of no-cook meals for dog-days of Tucson summer. Tucson's own El Guero Canelo is featured as one of the 10 Best Hot Dogs in the US. (p.26) and most importantly we will toast to the memory, legacy and Birthday of the legendary Julia Child. Her 90th birthday was celebrated in Washington D.C. and I was lucky to be among the guests at a small dinner at Ris Lacoste's 1789 Restaurant. But at a larger party at the Four Season's Hotel Patrick O'Connell and his crew from the Inn at Little Washington served up ( at Julia's request) cheeseburgers, french fries, and ice cream sundaes ( all favorites of the French Chef!). Of course these were the best cheeseburgers you ever ate. But it underscores how REAL Julia was. So this week when it seems way way way to hot to cook. Look to the pages of Bon Appetit and no-cook a dinner, or go to El Guero Canelo for a Sonoran Hot Dog, or to your favorite burger joint and have a humble hamburger or Hot Dog and enjoy it with gusto for Jullia. And with your second juicy bite thank Barbara Fairchild while you're at it.