Backstage With Julia: My Years with Julia Child

by Nancy Verde Barr

You’ll love this intimate portrait of the inimitable Julia Child by Nancy Verde Barr, her executive chef and friend for twenty-four years. Brimming with anecdotes, memorabilia, and snapshots, Backstage with Julia conveys Julia’s generosity, her boundless energy, and her love of food and life. This loving memoir celebrates the adventurous, unassuming essence of the chef who seasoned American palates and heightened our appreciation of food.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Food, Biography Memoir, Memoir, Food Writing, Cooking

306 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Nancy Verde Barr was executive chef to Julia Child from 1980 to 1998 and the culinary producer for PBS's Baking with Julia and ABC's Good Morning America. She has written for Gourmet, Food & Wine, Bon Appétit, Parade, and Cook's Magazine and is the author of three award-winning cookbooks.

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This insider's account of life with Julia is a very admiring look at the woman who taught America to cook. Julia's impact on the author (Nancy Verde Barr, long-time chef's assistant) is evident in the first few pages. Julia's philosophy was, as long as you are doing what you love and doing it well, what's the sense in stopping?

It is lovely to read that Julia embraced everything positive, from engaging eagerly with fans at book signings to re-enacting Dan Ackroyd's famous Saturday Night Live sketch lampooning her. It is equally interesting to discover that Julia did not permit mentioning things which she despised, generally the names of disagreeable chefs and the words "tired" and "exhausted." Her rejection of these negative notions may be the secret to her never-ending energy.

Barr provides a number of anecdotes that perfectly illustrate classic Julia traits, including her outspokenness, risque sense of humor, constant curiousity and love of kitchen experimentation. This portrait of Julia's years as an American celebrity gives readers a picture of her success, work ethic and desire to keep going right up until her health failed.

For a light and engaging introduction to the life of Julia Child, I preferred the book Julia co-wrote with a relative and entitled: "My Life in France" which takes the reader through Julia's travels, discovery of fine cuisine and publication of Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

"Backstage with Julia" lacks the indepth look at who Julia got to be where she is and spends more time marveling at her gung-ho attitude and merry approach to hard work. This was a very pleasant read about a very unusual - and unstoppable - woman.

[WhatShouldIRead]

I never remotely considered that 'Julia Child' and 'tedious' should EVER go together in a sentence. However, after trying to slog through this book I feel like the author achieved this.

What should have been entertaining and informative came off as boring and tedious. It felt like the author took all the fun aspects of working with Julia out and left all the basic mandatory things which needed to be done and wrote about those. And they were described to mind-numbing precision.

Your mileage may vary with this book but I was sorely disappointed.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Barr worked with Julia for over two decades. She truly adored Julia Child. The book is a light read filled with short anecdotes that fans of Julia Child will relish. I liked the book, but after a while Barr’s overenthusiastic adulation and glossing over of Child’s less than agreeable character traits was kind of annoying.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always been a fan of Julia Child the cook (her word) and the woman and this book endeared her to me even more. I can't say enough about the writing or the subject matter. My favorite quote from Julia, "Life itself is the proper binge". Bon Appetit!

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Julia Child was a fascinating woman and this book gives a good portrait of her, interspersing personal bits with "backstage" looks at working with, and as, Julia Child.

[Carolyn Bunkley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting look at the workings of cooking for the camera. If you are a fan of Julia child, as I am, it will make you like her even more.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nancy Verde Barr was a humble, but experienced cooking school teacher in Providence, RI when a friend asked her to help organize a charity demonstration by none other than Julia Child. Barr leaped up to the job, which began 20 years of cooking, television, parties, dinners and more cooking. This is an entertaining book of the food scene in the 1980s and 90s, of cooking on TV and above all of Julia Child, bon appetit, crazy schemes, and all.
Nancy and Julia very quickly became friends, having moved on from star and assistant. On Julia's endless trips to promote her books, appear for good causes, and star on TV shows with various culinary luminaries, they joked around, dished the dirt and generally had a great time.
The Julia Child revealed in this book would say literally anything. At one point, she was taping a show with Jacques Pepin, who was making lobster souffle. While Pepin was demonstrating how to remove the meat from the lobster claws, Julia picked up the lobster tail, removed the meat from the shell and said, "Here, Jacques, I have a nice piece of tail for you." The audience cracked up, the crew filmed it again, and Julia said it again.
Anyone who has ever watched cooking demonstrations on TV will be interested in Nancy's description of what goes into them. When Julia appeared on Good Morning America, she had two to three minutes to demonstrate how to make a dish that might take half an hour or longer in real life. Hence, the swaps. Let's say Julia was demonstrating rice pilaf. She started out mincing onions, carrots and celery and putting them in a pan with melted butter to sautee. No time to cook them properly, so she picked up an identical pan on the stove with the cooked vegetables, added rice, stock and seasonings, stirred it and set it to cook. No time for that, so she moved to another identical pan with perfectly cooked rice.
If you are interested in food, humor, and 80s and 90s TV ,read this book.

[Charlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

An intimate look at a fascinating woman who changed how we look at food and cooking. Ms. Barr was both a friend, and active supporting chef, for Julia Child in the years after her initial book and PBS series, and she gives me a better understanding of just what it took to do all those demonstrations and TV spots. But also what it took to keep up with Julia. Worth the read if you want to know more about Julia Child.

[Leslie Goddard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this short, lively memoir. It's one of the best insights I've seen to who Julia Child was as a person -- and that the person you saw on television was really the same person off camera. Barr does a great job capturing Child's personality through stories. It's not a full biography of Child, so probably would appeal to readers who already know something about her but are curious about her personality.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, and the personal stories of the author's friendship and working relationship with Julia Child. It was different from other books I've read about Julia because it was written by a friend.

The photos (in my opinion) should have been larger -- I struggled to see them clearly -- and some of them weren't great quality, but I recognize that they were snapshots and not professional photos intended for publication.

[Rosie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vacation in Traverse City, MI.

Really fun story - about her television career and friends, travels, work.

A wonderfully interesting TV/Cooking career - a good person with a very good attitude.

No guilt necessary - once something is done it is done; move on. Try it for the experience and challenge. Enjoy life.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book by far that I've read about Julia Child. Best quote in the book, "Diet food is what you eat when you're waiting for the steak to come off the grill." What a sense of humor she had. I wish I could have known her.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating backstage look at how Julia Child and cooking shows worked. After reading a book about the founding of Food Network this was a nostalgic look back to the way it 'used to be'.

I miss just shows about how to cook.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of detail but enjoyable.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Non-fiction account of working with Julia Child

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read.

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Interesting insight by someone who worked with her and was a friend.

[Sherrie Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good solid 4 stars.

Well written, no typos, obviously well-edited; was thrilled to read a proper book after a spate of, albeit well-intentioned, but obviously self-published and non-edited books.

The author takes us through Julia's television period, of about 1981 through to her semi-retirement around 1997. The way Julia lived, ever-energetic, ever-gracious ... the accounts of her dining until midnight then up by five to tape a tv show ... well, made me tired just reading it! (But don't let Julia hear you say the 't' word - it didn't exist to her!)

While not a complete biography, it does give us insights to Julia's later years, after her monumental success with 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking' and her delightful PBS shows. And her reaction to Dan Ackroyd's portrayal of her? Oh, how funny - and she actually imitated HIM imitating HER on various occasions.

The only thing which stops me giving this five stars is that the author didn't quite go chronological - it was like a conversation, not an acutal biography. She'd skip a few years to discuss something or other, then go back to the original timeline. I didn't quite grasp that concept.

But nonetheless, it was a great read. I highly recommend it.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed learning about Julia Child and Nancy Verde Barr's experiences working with her. Since I'm an avid baker, getting to learn about all that goes in to cooking on television and cooking demonstrations was truly fascinating.

Another unique aspect of the book was that Barr also included pictures featuring herself and Julia during various adventures they shared.

Although the writing was not always what I wanted it to be, it was clear to me that Barr did know Julia Child well and that she had a unique insight into what Julia's life was really like behind the cameras. I would certainly recommend this book to anyone interested in Julia Child! However, this is not a book I would necessarily lend as a great read.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice read for fans of Julia Child. I would recommend Child's My Life in France and the biography Dearie ahead of this, but Barr does a nice job of describing Child's later years (post-"The French Chef") and their friendship and working relationship. The author keeps the spotlight on Julia Child, with information about her own life as it related to Julia's, and it's a nicely balanced history. The insights into what it takes to produce even a short segment of a food show or segment are interesting, and one gains a sense of the indefatiguable and fascinating Julia Child up to her last days.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not a great cook. I would like to learn more about how to cook well. I also enjoy watching the process of good old-fashioned cooking.
I'm a sucker for a great biography and was curious to learn about the behind-the-scenes activities of the one and only Julia Child. The book was written by her culinary assistant, Nancy Verde Barr. Her candor about Julia's "what you see if what you get" personality was riveting. I found myself googling the chefs, cook books, and cooking styles mentioned. It's a world I know very little about, but appreciate immensely.
This book is not necessarily for "foodies"- it's for folks that may want to learn how to live an authentic life. Bon Appetit!

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a remarkable look at Julia Child by the woman who started as one of her sous-chefs and ended up one of her best friends. Verde Barr paints a picture of Julia that seems larger-than-life but only because Julia WAS larger-than-life. A truly remarkable woman who even in her 90s relished adventure, was keenly passionate about cooking and whose motto for everything seemed to be "Why not?" Her indefatigable energy and spirit dominate the book. Makes you wish you, too, were one of Julia's friends.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

This really tells you everything you would like to know about Julia Child. She was as funny,warm and witty off-stage as she was on. It also chronicles her remarkable achievements in helping to make the culinary arts a true profession in America.

I wanted to love this book but the overwhelming amount of detail bogged it down. Do I really need to know the architecture and history of the building in which they were going to eat lunch? No, I do not.

This could have been a great book with a more critical editor.

[Frenje · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gave up on this one. A hundred pages in, I got tired of Verde Barr going on and on about the glorious qualities of Julia Child -- oh she's so generous, so funny, etc etc. Or worse, when she starts going on about the teeny mistakes or gaffes she herself made (of the oh-so-trivial kind that no one else would possibly remember or think to write about after all these years). To be fair, it doesn't help that I've never seen Child in action on TV, and know little about her to begin with.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating insight into Julia Child's personality (warts and all). The prose is decent, although not poetic. There's probably more about Barr's personal life than one really cares to know, but her stories about working with Child are gems. She also paints a dynamic picture of the world of television cooking shows. This book is a great companion to Child's "My Life in France."

[Nona · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this before the movie "Julie and Julia" was released so I could learn more about Julia Child. The author worked closely with Child and had many stories that illustrated how delightful and down-to-earth Child could be. Clearly Verde Barr was very fond of her former boss, and after reading this book, I understand why.

[tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

i have read several books on julia and watched her on tv as well as listened to one of her books on cd and have loved them all. i look forward to this book, i find her very inspirational and hope it is as good as others....

this book was excellent! gave real insight to the person behind the name from a true friends perspective, highly recommend!

[Ssubrama · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gobbled up this book. It's a quick read and is written by a good friend of Julia Child's. They made friends after she was the Julia Child. Interesting inside look into an amazing woman. Shows a very positive view of her, but Barr acknowledged flaws at one point in the book. Great food descriptions too, as you'd expect from any book on Julia Child.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good book about Julia Child. This one covered the 1980s & 90s when Julia was doing tons of TV. Enjoyed learning a little more about what she was like with her friends and co-workers. A consummate professional. The book did get a bit repetitive at times, so even though I enjoyed it, I got a little bored.

[Lisagarden · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a labor of love by Nancy Verde Barr for her mentor and boss Julia Child. Insightful about Julia on a more personal level and how she dealt with day to day tasks. I like the way Nancy put Julia into a historical/cooking context and changes that came about due to Julia in the Culinary world that I had knew nothing about.