Julia Child: Spy And Chef

Julia Child: Serving America

In 1963 Julia Child became the first national superstar chef on TV.!

Her program “The French Chef” was so influential that the Smithsonian Institute features her kitchen, intact, as a permanent exhibit! Julia Child changed the way America thought about food, became the first star of public broadcasting, opened the doors for cooking on television and became one of the first and most important faces of public broadcasting. Quite a legacy for a woman who was neither French nor a chef!

There was another side to Julia Child–one that the public knew little about.  In 1943, twenty years before her cooking and media skills would make her famous, Julia Child served in America’s top secret spy corps during World War II!  The amazing Julia Child worked in the OSS,

Julia Child – In China WWII

which was later to become the CIA. Utilizing a very high level of security clearance, amazing organizational skills and endless optimism and resourcefulness, the former party girl from California served America her nation. She worked at the right hand of “Wild Bill” Donovan, the head of America’s foreign spies! With her husband, Paul,Julia Child moved from one dangerous overseas post to another, serving our country before she learned how to cook.

The daring story of Julia Child in the OSS is only one of the delights in this unique, funny and fascinating multimedia presentation! We will look at how she changed public television, changed the way America cooked and ate – and how she had a whole lot fun in everything she attempted!