Cooks

In addition to being a doc fan, I love to cook. Fortunately, I live in Southern California, where I have a daily helping of farmers markets and documentaries at my disposal. Cooking soothes me; every recipe is a little story and an escape into something foreign and new. Kind of like documentaries.

I have been on pins and needles for weeks in anticipation of seeing the new film, Julie & Julia. French cooking and blogging - sign me up. Tonight, I saw a screening of the film in my neighborhood and was enchanted. I hadn't followed Julie Powell's blog back in the day (I don't think I even knew about blogging back then), or read her book in advance, but I knew that I loved food and that this was going to be the film for me. I was not wrong - it is another Nora Ephron delight (carried mainly and not surprisingly by Meryl Streep), marrying Julie's story of finding her passion, learning to cook and working her way through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, with Julia's story of finding her passion, learning to cook and writing the book in the first place. I gained 10 pounds just watching the movie, and it looks like I have some French cooking to do in my not-so-distant-future...

Of course, it also got me thinking about docs and cooks. American Masters did a doc on Julia Child some years ago called Julia! America's Favorite Chef; I'm not sure if they are going to re-air it around the movie release, but you can buy it on DVD. My local PBS station sent an email today about a special Julia Child retrospective this weekend, so I am going to try to catch that. Julia was an institution; I just missed seeing her in person shortly before her death, and it is still a life regret.

Another French cooking revolutionary and heroine of mine is Alice Waters, who I recently did have the honor of meeting (coincidentally, at the same theatre as the screening tonight). Years ago, I had the great opportunity to dine at her legendary restaurant Chez Panisse in Berkeley. A treasured memory. American Masters did a doc on her as well - Alice Waters and her Delicious Revolution. A new doc, Food, Inc. showcases the issue of food safety, and of eating organically, seasonally and locally, which Alice Waters has espoused for decades.

Two other related cooking items to note for now: Stanley Tucci is terrific in the film as Julia's husband Paul; there are rumors that he will team up with Mario Batali for the Italian follow-up to the Spain...On the Road Again doc series on PBS. I was addicted to this show last year, and bought just about every piece of product associated with it. I hope it happens soon and wonder if there is a French culinary road trip to come.

Finally, I recently read David Kamp's book The United States of Arugula: The Sun Dried, Cold Pressed, Dark Roasted, Extra Virgin Story of the American Food Revolution , featuring Julia, Alice, Mario, James Beard, and a host of other visionaries who changed the way we cook and eat in this country. The book was a great primer for this movie. It took me about as long to read as it did Julie Powell to finish her Julia Child cooking project, but only because I savored every fantastic, juicy word of it.

Bon Appetit (but of course)!