Things have certainly changed since Julia Child (1912–2004) burst on to the television screens of America with her cooking programs. Her inimitable style and off-the-wall sense of humour won her a devoted audience, which grew exponentially with every series. Books accompanied each television series, as did book signings and promotions, where budding cooks lined up to meet the compelling and captivating creature that was Julia Child.

What is most extraordinary is that Child, described as a ‘gangly stalk’ and ‘rambunctious’ child by writer Bob Spitz, drifted through a privileged background with absolutely no idea of what she might do in life. Julia sought only to follow what her parents, John and Caro McWilliams, and the Pasadena social set laid out for her. That was an appropriate marriage and a life based in a decent suburb with like-minded friends and the requisite country club for tennis and golf. Young Julia enjoyed her school days, but would have been the first to admit she did not excel. The only thing that seemed to grab her attention was making mischief, a trait that was to continue throughout her life. At Smith College she barely applied herself and only just scraped through. When Julia married she could not even boil an egg. So how did this brilliant culinary career come about?

War intervened when Julia was thirty and gave her a purpose. She left Pasadena and headed to Washington, sure that her application to join the Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service would be accepted. Unfortunately, the gangly stalk of a child had grown to a strapping young woman of six foot three; she was automatically rejected on the grounds of being too tall. Undaunted, Julia eventually made it toCeylon via India in the service of the Office of Strategic Services. Paul Child, who was working in the Visual Presentation Branch of the OSS, did not notice her immediately, but her beguiling nature soon rectified that and they married in 1946.

After a dull desk job with the State Department, Paul secured a posting to Paris as a mid-level diplomat. Paul and Julia could not believe their luck. Paul knew France well, he spoke fluent French, and on their way to Paris he made sure they lunched at La Couronne, in Rouen. It was over that lunch of sole meunière that an epiphany took place. Julia had never tasted anything like it. She had found her calling in life: Food. French Food. With this discovery, she drew on a wealth of discipline, application, and determination.

Paris was perfect for Julia. She spent her days walking the streets, going to markets, finding food stores. Evenings were spent with Paul trying the many different restaurants Paris had to offer. During her time in Paris, Julia met Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck, who wanted to write a book about French cooking. Julia joined them, and the resulting book was Mastering the Art of French Cooking (1961). In any collaboration there are difficulties, and this one had many. Julia was insistent that every recipe be checked and double-checked, thus offering precise instructions for cooks. If American housewives were going to be weaned off canned fruit and overcooked hunks of meat and sausage, they would need to be led by an authoritative hand. Beck, who was a handful-of-this-and-a-pinch-of-that instinctive French cook, felt that Julia’s methodology was not French, but Julia stood her ground. Although they remained lifelong friends, Julia and Beck would only write one more book together. Julia, who would work eight hours every day in the kitchen, felt that Louisette was not pulling her weight. Louisette left the team.

Alfred A. Knopf published the first book and wanted more. WGBH put an unlikely character on screen – in a cooking show, for heaven’s sake – and quite without knowing how, they had a huge hit on their hands. Julia, by the very force of her nature and her sure-fire way of communicating directly with the viewing public, became a household name and remained a celebrity for several decades.

Cooking programs in the 1960s were profoundly different from current ones. Julia had to fight many battles regarding content, style, and scheduling, but she won them all. Her instinct was spot on, and she knew it.

Julia had to confront other things – Paul’s ill health and subsequent transfer into full-time care, his death, her breast cancer, agonising problems with her knees – but nothing deterred her or slowed her down. Even in her eighties she was still performing on television; still writing and promoting her books. My copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking has been beside me as I have read Dearie. Julia’s duck with apple stuffing is scheduled for this weekend.