Celebrating Julia (August 12, 2012)

French picnic to mark 100th anniversary of famed chef Julia Child’s birth

Borrowing a cup of sugar or maybe several eggs from a neighbor is not uncommon when one runs out while making a recipe. But when the late Julia Child was the neighbor, the request turned out to be more exotic, as local chefs Michael Hutchings and James Sly discovered when Mr. Hutchings owned Michael’s Waterside restaurant across from the Bird Refuge. “We were in the kitchen one morning when in the back door walked Julia and in that unmistakable voice of hers asked, ‘Can I borrow a leg of veal?’” recalled Mr. Sly, who now owns Sly's restaurant in Carpinteria and is a friend of Mr. Hutchings. “What a question! Of course, Michael had one and was happy to lend it to his friend, Julia, who was right next door in the old California Highway Patrol building, where they had built a set and were shooting the ‘Cooking With Julia’ series. The veal leg was just a prop that Julia needed for the next episode.”

Source: Marilyn McMahon, Santa Barbara News-Press
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