Merci Julia!

60 of the world's most famous French chefs gather to honor la grande dame

I don’t think there’s ever been anything quite like it: On February 7, 1993 a huge group of chefs flew to Los Angeles to pay tribute to Julia Child (and raise money for The American Institute of Wine and Food, which she had started). It is a measure of the respect these chefs had for Julia that every great French chef working in this country came, along with Paul Bocuse, Alain Ducasse, Michel Guerard, Roger Verge, Marc Meneau, Marc Haeberlin and Michel Rostang. Oh yes, and did I mention that Quincy Jones was there?

But it was also a sign of fear. As other cuisines began sparking interest the French worried that they were being eclipsed, and they wanted to remind everyone of the glories of their native cuisine. Michel Richard, who organized the event, fretted that French food was considered too stuffy. "We have to do something to be loved again,” he said. “We want to be loved again."

And there, was, of course, controversy. Where were the women chefs? Of the 60 chefs who participated, only three women are listed (and two of them are not really chefs). Debra Ponzek, chef of New York’s Montrachet, was not even listed in the program. (Proprietor Drew Nieporent was acknowledged instead.)

The meal began with a grand walk-around cocktail party, followed by a sit-down black tie dinner. Each chef offered up a recipe for their hors d’oeuvre for the printed catalogue. I’ve included a few favorites below. More recipes tomorrow.

There’s so much to like about these recipes, starting with the way each one looks. The organizers simply published the recipes as the chefs sent them in, giving you both graphic and written clues to their character. The writing is charming: note how both celery and chard are referred to in this recipe as “sticks”.

A collaboration between Jean Joho, of Chicago’s Everest and Marc Haeberlin of Auberge de L’Ill in Alsace (Joho worked there for 13 years before coming to America), this is an absolutely classic dish. Many New Yorkers were familiar with Tarte Flambe because Andre Soltner had been serving it at Lutece for many years.

Interesting, isn’t it, that one of the only woman chefs chose to honor Julia with an absolutely simple and very American dish? Ponzek, who was married to Bobby Flay at the time, was the chef at Montrachet for 8 years. She and her husband now run a string of very successful Aux Delices restaurants in Connecticut.

Gilbert Le Coze offered two recipes (the one from Le Bernardin was a tuna tartare). Although this rillette of salmon is listed under his Coconut Grove restaurant, a version of this very dish continues to be the amuse bouche served at Le Bernardin today.

Jean-Louis Palladin was a game changing chef; take one look at this recipe and you will instantly understand. Seaweed in 1993? Seaweed that you cure for a month? Everybody who ever met Jean-Louis has a story about him; some day I’m going to write them all down. His premature death in 2001 was a great loss to us all.

There’s snow outside, but here in my kitchen calamondins fill the tree. What could be nicer in the middle of winter than your very own indoor citrus plant?

Mine arrived a couple of months ago covered in blossoms. Since then the blossoms have all turned into fruit. It seems the Via Citrus people are telling the truth when they say that the tiny trees require only sunlight and water.

The company offers a number of different varieties of citrus; the most intriguing is the finger lime tree. I remember the first time I saw finger limes: I could not believe that nature has actually created a fruit which produces little caviar-like pearls filled with tart juice. They’re the perfect topping for oysters. But I think any of these plants would make a pretty perfect present.