Julia Child: Spy And Chef
2025-11-06 13:00 - 14:30 (America/Chicago) | North Shore Senior Center, 161 Northfield Road, Northfield, 60093
Julia Child: Spy And Chef

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 how 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 essential faces of public broadcasting. Quite a legacy for a woman who was neither French nor a chef!
There was another long-secret side to Julia Child that she hid for many decades.
In 1943, twenty years before her cooking and media skills became famous, Julia Child served in America’s top-secret spy corps during World War II! The fantastic Julia Child worked in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) – the predecessor to the Central Intelligence Agency!

Utilizing a very high level of security clearance, exceptional organizational skills, and endless optimism and resourcefulness, the former party girl from California served America as her nation. She worked at the right hand of “Wild Bill” Donovan, the head of America’s foreign spies! Paul, Julia Child, moved from one dangerous overseas post to another with her husband, serving our country before learning 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, how America cooked and ate, and had a lot of fun in everything she attempted!
