Backstage with Julia

http://www.renaud-bray.com

http://www.renaud-bray.com

In 1980, Nancy Verde Barr was drafted to help organize a Julia Child cooking demonstration in Providence, Rhode Island. Barr immediately hit it off with Julia, setting the stage for a relationship that would last twenty-four years—and transform Barr's personal and professional life forever. Now, in this engaging memoir, Barr takes a fond look back at her years with Julia. At the time Barr joined Julia's team, Julia had long been a celebrity. But as Barr soon realized, Julia didn't act like a celebrity. Julia in real life was the same Julia everyone saw on screen—dedicated to the art of cooking, brimming with energy, and full of fun—only more so. Whether flirting with Charlie Gibson on Good Morning America, lighting biscotti wrappers on fire at an Italian restaurant, or stopping for a hot dog at ten o'clock in the morning ( Why not? ), Julia was the life of the party—and she invited everyone around her to join in the fun. As Barr took on more and more work with Julia, she became not only a colleague, but a friend. Barr takes us along as she helps orchestrate television tapings, food photo shoots, and live demonstrations—and marvels at Julia's unflagging energy (no one was allowed to utter the t word— tired ), her wide-ranging curiosity, and her special knack for getting past flubs and setbacks. We meet Julia's beloved husband, Paul, and their extended family of siblings, nieces, and friends, and see what it was really like to have dinner at Julia's (hint: you were required to help cook). And we vacation with Julia in Venice, discovering her mixed feelings about Italian food (she never quite saw the point of pasta). Brimming with stories, anecdotes, and snapshots, Backstage with Julia captures the essence of Julia Child—her generosity, her high spirits, and her openness to new ideas and adventures. It's a loving portrait of a woman who changed the way Americans thought about food and brightened the lives of everyone who knew her.