The French Chef is an American television cooking show created and hosted by Julia Child, produced and broadcast by WGBH, the public television station in Boston, Massachusetts, from February 11, 1963 Boston Globe Magazine TV Week, February 10, 1963 to January 14, 1973. It was one of the first cooking shows on American television.
The French Chef was first shown with a pilot on July 26, 1962."Thursday, July 26", "TV Week" in Boston Globe Magazine supplement (p. 22) to Boston Sunday Globe, July 22, 1962 After two more episodes were broadcast in the summer, the show premiered as a regular weekly series on February 11, 1963."Monday, Feb. 11", "TV Week" in Boston Globe Magazine supplement (p. 9) to Boston Sunday Globe, February 10, 1963 The immensely popular show went on to air for 212 episodes. It is credited with convincing the American public to try cooking French food at home.
The show grew out of a special presentation Child gave on WGBH based on the book Mastering the Art of French Cooking which she co-authored. The French Chef was produced from 1963 to 1973 by WGBH for National Educational Television (and later for PBS). Reruns continued on PBS until 1989, and were airing on Cooking Channel as of 2010. As of September 2016, episodes were being rerun on the new Canadian cooking channel Gusto, and later, Makeful. As recently as March 2017, reruns of the show were also seen on the American Public Television Create channel.
The original episodes were available on the PBS streaming service as of 2020. In July 2021, certain episodes were added to the Pluto TV lineup, together with other Julia Child cooking programs.
Format The French Chef introduced French cooking to the United States at a time when it was considered expensive restaurant fare, not suitable for home cooking. Child emphasized fresh and, at the time, unusual ingredients.
All of the recipes used on The French Chef had originally appeared in Mastering the Art of French Cooking, but for the show, Child chose mostly the more domestic recipes from the book, although such showpieces as Beef Wellington, various sorts of soufflé, and some ambitious pastries also made it into the mix if they seemed within the reach of a home cook without staff.
The show was done live-to-videotape from start to finish, leaving little room for mistakes. The resulting occasional accidents became a popular trademark of Child's on air presence, used as "teachable moments" to encourage viewers to relax about the task's demands.
Certain elements became motifs: Julia's fondness for wine; her distinctive voice; her staunch defense of the use of butter (with margarine invariably referred to as "that other spread") and cream; her standard issue "impeccably clean towel"; and her closing line at the end of every show: "This is Julia Child, Bon appétit!"
History
Child's first appearance cooking on TV had been by happenstance: a guest for another show on WGBH had canceled their appearance, as did the backup guest. Child was invited to do a cooking demonstration, which received positive feedback and prompted executives to order a pilot.
When the show began, the budget was so low that "volunteers had to be recruited to wash dishes, and the food sometimes had to be auctioned to the audience afterwards to cover expenses."
In 1964, Child received a Peabody Award, crediting her for doing "more than show us how good cooking is achieved; by her delightful demonstrations she has brought the pleasures of good living into many American homes." In May 1966, her show won a Primetime Emmy Award for Achievements in Educational Television – Individuals.
The January 4, 1965 episode of The French Chef, “Ham Dinner in Half an Hour”, featured an appearance by Julia’s husband Paul Cushing Child, who at the start of the show calls her to let her know that he’s bringing two friends home for dinner in half an hour.
The August 27, 1968 episode of The French Chef (rerun from an episode sometime in 1965) ended with the unexpected collapse of an Apple Charlotte.
On August 6, 1972, a rerun of The French Chef became the first U.S. television show to include captions for deaf viewers. The episode had open captions and featured coq au vin and chicken fricassee.
The show was produced by Ruth Lockwood and directed by Russell Morash, Russell Fortier, David Griffiths and David B. Atwood. Film composer John Morris wrote the second theme song for The French Chef.
The show eventually became so popular that Child's use of a particular ingredient each week would sometimes cause a surge in demand and lead to grocery stores across the country temporarily selling out of it.
Legacy Child and WGBH would collaborate again on the series Julia Child & Company from 1978 to 1980, Dinner at Julia's from 1983 to 1984, and a series of home videos in 1985 called The Way to Cook. Child would be paired with other food personalities for two additional PBS series in the 1990s, Cooking with Master Chefs: Hosted by Julia Child which ran for a single season from 1993 to 1994, and Baking with Julia for three seasons from 1996 to 1998. She also participated in the show Julia Child & Jacques Pépin Cooking at Home which won a Daytime Emmy Award in 2001.
As part of its growing Twitch Creative content, Twitch streamed every episode of The French Chef over a four-day period starting on March 15, 2016, to launch its new food channel. Twitch reported that almost a million viewers watched the marathon.
Julia, a television series based on Child and the creation of The French Chef, premiered on HBO Max in 2022.
List of episodes Pilots (1962) The three pilot episodes were subsequently taped over by the studio, a common practice at the time, and no copies are known to exist today. The subjects of the pilot episodes were revisited early in the show's run, with the French omelet and onion soup appearing in the first season and Coq au Vin in the second.
Episode Subject Air Date Pilot The French Omelet July 28, 1962 Pilot Coq au Vin July 1962 Pilot Onion soup July 1962
Season 1 (1963) Child wrote that the first 13 episodes were lost at one point, but that the first 7 were found. However, PBS posted 23 episodes from the first season to YouTube in June 2022, with only French Onion Soup and Dinner In a Pot missing. Those two episodes were later posted in October 2022. The first few episodes were sponsored by S&H Green Stamps; starting with Chicken Breasts and Rice, this season was sponsored by Safeway Stores.
Episode Subject Air Date E01 Boeuf Bourguignon February 11, 1963 E02 French Onion Soup February 18, 1963 E03 Casserole Roast Chicken February 25, 1963 E04 The French Omelette March 4, 1963 E05 Scallops March 11, 1963 E06 Quiche Lorraine March 18, 1963 E07 Fruit Tarts March 25, 1963 E08 Filets of Sole in White Wine April 1, 1963 E09 Hollandaise Sauce April 8, 1963 E10 Non-Collapsible Soufflé April 15, 1963 E11 Chicken Fricassee April 22, 1963 E12 Roast Lamb the French Way April 29, 1963 E13 French Chocolate Cake May 6, 1963 E14 Chicken Breasts and Rice May 13, 1963 E15 Vegetables à la Française May 20, 1963 E16 Veal Scallops May 27, 1963 E17 French Salads- Mayonnaise June 3, 1963 E18 Chicken Livers à la Française June 10, 1963 E19 Roast Duck à l'Orange June 17, 1963 E20 Chocolate Mousse June 24, 1963 E21 Pâtés July 1, 1963 E22 Aspics July 8, 1963 E23 Bouillabaisse July 15, 1963 E24 Lobster à l'Américaine July 22, 1963 E25 French Crêpes July 29, 1963 E26 French Crêpes II - Suzette August 5, 1963 E27 Steaks and Hamburgers August 12, 1963 E28 The Potato Show August 19, 1963 E29 Soufflé on a Platter August 26, 1963 E30 Moussaka and Ratatouille September 2, 1963 E31 Dinner in a Pot September 9, 1963 E32 Pâte à Choux September 16, 1963 E33 Caramel Desserts September 23, 1963 E34 Cooking Your Goose September 30, 1963
Season 2 (1963-1964) This season was sponsored by Safeway Stores.
Episode Subject Air Date E01 Chestnut Cookery December 16, 1963 E02 Bûche de Noël December 23, 1963 E03 Bringing in the New Year December 30, 1963 E04 Coq au Vin January 6, 1964 E05 Cassoulet January 13, 1964 E06 Vegetable Adventures January 20, 1964 E07 Puff Pastry January 27, 1964 E08 More about Puff Pastry February 3, 1964 E09 Fish Mousselines February 10, 1964 E10 Cake for Company February 17, 1964 E11 Artichokes from Top to Bottom February 24, 1964 E12 Elegance with Eggs March 2, 1964 E13 Cold Soufflés and Bavarian Cream March 9, 1964 E14 Case for Salmon March 16, 1964 E15 Broccoli and Cauliflower March 23, 1964 E16 Veal for a King March 30, 1964 E17 The Soup Show April 6, 1964 E18 Flaming Soufflé April 13, 1964 E19 Small Roast Birds April 20, 1964 E20 Boeuf à la Mode April 27, 1964 E21 Timbales May 4, 1964 E22 Fish Filets Sylvestre May 11, 1964 E23 Babas au Rhum May 18, 1964 E24 Chicken Dinner in Half an Hour May 25, 1964 E25 Rognons Sautés and Flambés June 1, 1964 E26 Lobster Buffet June 8, 1964 E27 The Mushroom Show June 15, 1964 E28 Veal Dinner in Half an Hour June 22, 1964 E29 Broiled Chicken Plain and Saucy June 29, 1964 E30 Lamb Stew is French, Too July 6, 1964 E31 Introducing Charlotte Malakoff July 13, 1964 E32 Hot Turkey Ballotine July 20, 1964 E33 Cold Turkey Galantine July 27, 1964 E34 Le Marquis au Chocolat August 3, 1964
Season 3 (1964-1965) This season was sponsored by Polaroid Corporation; starting with Turban of Sole, Hills Bros. Coffee joined as co-sponsor.
Episode Subject Air Date E01 Vegetables for the Birds November 23, 1964 E02 French Tarts, Apple Style November 30, 1964 E03 Feasting on the Remains December 7, 1964 E04 French Jelly Roll December 14, 1964 E05 Bûche de Noël December 21, 1964 E06 Beef Gets Stewed Two Ways December 28, 1964 E07 Ham Dinner in Half an Hour January 4, 1965 E08 Croissants January 11, 1965 E09 Chocolate Souffle January 18, 1965 E10 Four in Hand Chicken January 25, 1965 E11 Brioches February 1, 1965 E12 Veal Prince Orloff February 8, 1965 E13 Great Beginnings February 15, 1965 E14 Turban of Sole February 22, 1965 E15 Strawberry Tarts March 1, 1965 E16 The Shrimp Show March 8, 1965 E17 Salad Fixings March 15, 1965 E18 Non-collapsible Cheese Soufflé March 22, 1965 E19 Quiches March 29, 1965 E20 Fish Dinner in Half an Hour April 5, 1965
Season 4 (1965-1966) This season was sponsored by Polaroid Corporation and Hills Bros. Coffee.
Episode Subject Air Date E01 French Veal Stew August 16, 1965 E02 Improvisation August 23, 1965 E03 The Empress's Rice August 30, 1965 E04 Coquilles St. Jacques September 6, 1965 E05 More about Steaks September 13, 1965 E06 To Poach a Salmon September 20, 1965 E07 Invitation To Lunch September 27, 1965 E08 Beef in Red Wine October 4, 1965 E09 Your Own French Onion Soup October 11, 1965 E10 Hollandaise and Béarnaise October 18, 1965 E11 Chicken in Cocotte October 25, 1965 E12 Queen of Sheba Cake (black & white) November 1, 1965 E13 To Poach Sole Filets November 8, 1965 E14 Chop Dinner in Half an Hour November 15, 1965 E15 Filet of Beef Wellington November 22, 1965 E16 Apple Charlotte November 29, 1965 E17 More Great Beginnings December 6, 1965 E18 Roast Suckling Pig December 13, 1965 E19 More about Potatoes December 20, 1965 E20 Croquembouche December 27, 1965 E21 Steak Dinner in Half an Hour January 3, 1966 E22 The Endive Show January 10, 1966 E23 Saddle of Lamb January 17, 1966 E24 Napoleons January 24, 1966 E25 Paella à l'Américaine January 31, 1966 E26 Dinner Party First Course February 7, 1966 E27 Dinner Party Main Course February 14, 1966 E28 Dinner Party Meringue Dessert February 21, 1966 E29 Soupe au Pistou February 28, 1966 E30 Quenelles March 7, 1966 E31 Génoise Cake March 14, 1966 E32 Petits Fours March 21, 1966 E33 The Mayonnaise Show March 28, 1966 E34 Swordfish Dinner in a Half Hour April 4, 1966 E35 Ossobuco April 11, 1966 E36 Sweetbreads and Brains April 18, 1966
Season 5 (1966) This was the last season to be presented by the Eastern Educational Television Network.