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The TV camera zooms in for a close-up and focuses on her hands. She may be dicing an onion, mincing a garlic clove, trussing a chicken. Her fingers fly with the speed and dexterity of a concert pianist. Strength counts, too, as she cleaves an ocean catfish with a mighty, two-fisted swipe or, muscles bulging and curls aquiver, whips up egg whites with her wire whisk. She takes every short cut, squeezes lemons through "my ever-clean dish towel," samples sauces with her fingers. No matter if she breaks the rules. Her verve and insouciance will see her through. Even her failures and faux pas are classic. When a potato pancake falls on the worktable, she scoops it back into the pan, bats her big blue eyes at the cameras, and advises: "Remember, you're all alone in the kitchen and no one can see you."
But seen she is. Julia Child, 54, is the 6-ft.-2-in.-tall star of the Emmy-winning half-hour program, The French Chef. Her viewers on 104 educational TV stations across the U.S. watch her every move, forgive her every gaffe and, in a word, adore her. Manhattan matrons refuse to dine out the night she is on. When Washington, D.C.'s WETA interrupted her program to carry Lyndon Johnson live, the station's switchboard was jammed for an hour. Miami's WTHS-TV ran through 117 of her 134 taped shows (the earliest tapes have simply worn out), found demand was so great that the station is now running through the whole series a second time. So good is she that men who have not the slightest intention of going to the kitchen for anything but ice cubes watch her for pure enjoyment.
A Tradition—with Rules. Julia Child's TV cooking shows have made her a cult from coast to coast and put her on a first-name basis with her fans. And when her followers are not watching and taking notes, they are likely to have her cookbook open at their elbow in the kitchen. Amid an avalanche of new cookbooks—206 last year alone—Julia Child's five-year-old Mastering the Art of French Cooking has grown to be the new bestseller in the field, with close to 300,000 copies sold at $10 apiece. But what really makes her just about everybody's chef of the year—and the most influential cooking teacher in the U.S. —is that her specialty, French cuisine, is the central grand tradition for the growing multitude of home gourmet cooks. It is an enthusiasm that is also cascading into the U.S. kitchen, turning it into the most scientific, colorful and savory room in the house, a combined work area and show place (see color pages).
"Gourmet" happens to be a word that makes gourmets, including Julia, wince. "French cooking is just a wonderful way to treat food," she says in her pleasant, direct way. "All it really is, is just good cooking." It is her thesis that French dishes are superior not because they are fancy but because they are logical, simple and good.