Julia Child's kitchen is a historic artifact on display on the ground floor of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

National Museum of American History The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center is a historical museum in Washington, D.C. It collects, preserves, and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific, and m ...

: Kenneth E. Behring Center, located in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, on the

National Mall The National Mall is a Landscape architecture, landscaped park near the Downtown, Washington, D.C., downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institu ...

. The kitchen is not a replica, but is the actual

kitchen A kitchen is a room (architecture), room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation in a dwelling or in a commercial establishment. A modern middle-class residential kitchen is typically equipped with a Kitchen stove, stove, a sink ...

used by noted 20th-century

cookbook A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (food), course (appetize ...

author and

cooking show A cooking show, cookery show, or cooking program (also spelled cooking programme in British English) is a television genre that presents food preparation, often in a restaurant kitchen or on a Television studio, studio set, or at the host's p ...

host

Julia Child Julia Carolyn Child (Birth name#Maiden and married names, née McWilliams; August 15, 1912 – August 13, 2004) was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for having brought French cuisine to the American pu ...

, appearing as the backdrop to several of her

television show A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platf ...

History

Built in Child's home on Irving Street in

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in 1961, the kitchen was designed by her husband, Paul Cushing Child with high countertops, rather than the standard height, for her frame. Paul also selected the light blue-green color scheme dominating the kitchen's panels. It was the setting for three of her television shows: '' In Julia's Kitchen with Master Chefs'', ''

Baking With Julia ''Baking with Julia'' is an American television cooking program produced by Julia Child and the name of the book which accompanied the series. Each episode featured one pastry chef or baker who demonstrates professional techniques that can be per ...

,'' and '' Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home'' with Jacques Pépin. The kitchen was fully transformed into a functional

set Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics *Set (mathematics), a collection of elements *Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively Electro ...

, with TV-quality lighting, three cameras positioned to catch all angles in the room, and a massive center island with a gas stovetop on one side and an electric stovetop on the other, but leaving the rest of the Childs' appliances alone, including the "wall oven with its squeaking door." During taping, the kitchen table and chairs were removed and replaced by a cooking island that had a built-in stovetop and food preparation surfaces.Julia Child's Kitchen at the Smithsonion Institution
FAQ. This kitchen backdrop hosted nearly all of Child's 1990s television series. In August 2001, representatives of the Smithsonian Institution met with Child in her home, where she agreed to donate her kitchen to the Institution, where it is now on display. Shortly after Child's 90th birthday, on August 18 and 19, 2002, Child attended the opening of the display of her kitchen. Her iconic copper pots and pans were on display at Copia in

Napa, California Napa is the largest city and county seat of Napa County, California, Napa County and a principal city of Wine Country in Northern California, United States. Located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the Bay Area, th ...

, until August 2009 when they were reunited with her kitchen at the National Museum of American History.

References

External links

* {{Julia Child Collection of the Smithsonian Institution Culture of the United States