Julia and Elizabeth: Ladies of Power
OK, I did read Mastering from cover to cover–many times.
OK, before that I had read French Provincial Cooking, well, a lot more than I ever read Mastering.
Now I really can’t be taking myself that seriously, can I? Proving my credentials with the two ladies who a generation or more ago were heroines in the US and Britain respectively? Plugging into to all the hullabaloo about the movie Julia and Julia, which is dominating foodie blogs in the United States?
Well, not myself, I sincerely hope. But, yes, these books. Between them they wrought social and economic change, altering the way millions of people ate, the way foods were marketed, the kinds of foods that were marketed, the kinds of kitchens we wanted, and now, bringing millions of dollars to entertainment industry.
Proof positive of the power of the imagination and of the written word to effect change, because that’s what it was in both cases: a new vision of what the good life amounted to.
Same period, give or take ten years. Same mission, bring French cooking to their home country. Same fame. But different vision of French cooking, different ways of disseminating their ideas. The Elizabeth fans never really warmed up to Julia. The Julia fans paid scant attention to Elizabeth.
So many parallels, so many yawning gaps just invite speculation. So several posts to come.
Not all Americans ignored Elizabeth…her books had a place of honor along with Julia’s when I was young. But thanks for reminding people…
Cheers,
Susan
Hi Susan, You are quite right that not all Americans ignored Elizabeth David. Some who were to be very influential latched on to her.
Nice blog by the way. I look forward to reading more–or viewing more.
Those books did not slumber on the shelves, did they. ;)
There is a recipe in French Provincial Cooking for making a leg of pork taste like wild boar. I duly followed this recipe for a number of years at Xmas and the results were spectacular………ahhhhh……such nostalgia
I agree she had some Americans that latched on to her.
thank you for this post. you’ve opened up the eyes of a food lover who is American and really didn’t know much about Elizabeth David. I’m on amazon about to buy a few of her cookbooks now. Thanks!!