Julie & Julia Inspires Theatre-goers and DC Area Restaurants

Foodies flocked to theatres over the weekend to see the new movie Julie & Julia, which opened on Friday, 7 August, 2009. It has been years since Hollywood has made a film that caters to food lovers … or butter worshippers; in this case, it’s both. Julie & Julia is comedy about the love of food, relationships, honesty, and self discovery. It is based on two real life stories, the first about world renowned culinary icon Julia Child (Meryl Streep), and the other about Julie Powell (Amy Adams), a young woman living in New York City who is unhappy about her life as a secretary and feels that she is in a dead-end job.

In August 2002, Julie Powell set out to cook all 524 recipes from Child’s cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, in one year and write a blog about her daily trials and tribulations. The movie, written by director/writer Nora Ephron (You’ve Got Mail, Sleepless In Seattle), is adapted from two books about the lives of those women: My Life in France, Child’s autobiography, and Julie Powell’s memoir Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen. The film draws parallels between Julia Child during her early years in Paris, beginning with Child eating sole meunière (her breakthrough eating moment) in France in 1949, and the manic 12-month period in which Julie Powell embarked on her Julie/Julia Project. This movie shows that food is a powerful subject. Not only did it have the power to bridge the generational divide between two women half a century apart, but it also had the power to profoundly change their lives. For movie-goers, it could change theirs too.

Julie Powell

Julia Child died in 2004 at age 91. With the anniversary of her death, approaching on August 13, and her birth, August 15, along with the recent release of the movie, several DC area restaurants are hosting special Julia remembrances.

Inox Restaurant in Tysons Corner is enlivening the cuisine of Julia Child with a three-course prix-fixe menu of dishes in celebration of the release of the movie. For $48 per person, Inox is serving guests a three-course tasting menu using recipes from Julia Child’s groundbreaking 1961 cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Executive chefs and co-owners Jon Mathieson and Jonathan Krinn will serve guests some of Julia’s beloved dishes. The special menu includes appetizers French Salad – Salad Composée or Chilled Leek and Potato Soup – Vichyssoise; entrees Casserole-Roasted Chicken with Tarragon Poulet Poêlé a L’Estragon or Julia Child’s Smothered Beef Brisket. For dessert enjoy Julia Child’s Cherry Clafouti. The dinner will be offered through 31 August, 2009, Monday to Friday from 5:00 – 10:00pm. Inox Restaurant is located at 1800 Tysons Corner Boulevard, McLean, Virginia / 703.790.INOX (4669).

Julia Child

Zola Wine & Kitchen is partnering with the International Spy Museum to host an exclusive cocktail reception on Thursday, 20 August, 2009 to pay tribute to the life of the legendary Julia Child. The evening will include Julia Child-inspired fare and a cooking demonstration of her famous Coq au Vin, presented by Stir Food Group’s Executive Chef Bryan Moscatello. Additionally, award-winning actress Mary Ann Jung of History Alive! will be presiding over the evening and sharing stories about Child’s secret life working as a spy, managed by the Office of Strategic Services – an early version of the CIA created during World War II by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Tickets are priced at $55 per person, and include two glasses of wine and a variety of Child’s favorite dishes. Tickets can be purchased 9:00am – 5:00pm by calling SPY Guest Services at 202.654.0964. Limited seating is available, and reservations are required.

Julia Child’s Cambridge, Massachusetts kitchen is part of a permanent exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.