37 Julia Child Quotes: The Life & Cooking Lessons You Never Knew You Needed

It wasn’t until I watched the 2009 movie Julie Julia that I discovered the TV Chef and author Julia Child. I’d never really been into cooking before that, let alone heard any Julia Child quotes. For me, cooking was something that had to be done rather than enjoyed. 

But then I moved to France, and my perception of cooking changed completely. I had my own French country kitchen, not unlike Julia’s, but with fewer pots and pans. It was then I realized that cooking was so much more than slapping a meal together.

It was a chance to experiment, use vegetables I’d never used before, and cook with the seasons. Suddenly, I was looking forward to finishing work, unwinding with a glass of wine, and popping on my apron, all thanks to Julia.

Why Cooking in France is Different

Here in France, cooking isn’t like in the UK or the US, where you can get anything you want at any time of year. Food is seasonal. If it isn’t in season, you won’t find it in the supermarket, so you can’t get it.

This means you cook with the seasons and shop at the local markets. You quickly learn when asparagus season is and when swedes (rutabagas) will hit the shelves again. The French love to cook, but it’s about more than just the food.

Here in France, it’s about spending time together and enjoying the simple things in life, such as eating. Everything stops for food, including the shops and offices. They still have two-hour lunch breaks when the shops shut and the offices are empty.

I’ve grown to love and wholeheartedly embrace the French attitude to life, and their love of food is part of this. Why work sixty hours a week when you can work thirty-five and still get the same amount done? Despite their long lunch breaks and summer shutdowns, France is the most productive country in Europe.

Julia Child understood the French and loved them and their food passionately. So now, every time I step into my French kitchen to cook Coq au Vin, I conjure up a Julia quote to keep me on the cooking straight and narrow. Here are some of my favorite Julia Child quotes that inspired me to master French cooking.

Julia Child’s Most Unexpected (and Hilarious) Quotes

Wine, Food, and the Joy of Eating

 “As you get older, you shouldn’t waste time drinking bad wine.”

“I enjoy cooking with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food … ”

“The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook.”

“People who love to eat are always the best people.”

“We should enjoy food and have fun. It is one of the simplest and nicest pleasures in life.”

Mastering Cooking with Passion and Fearlessness

“Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.”

“…no one is born a great cook; one learns by doing.”

“The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking, you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude.”

“Really, the more I cook, the more I like to cook.”

“Usually, one’s cooking is better than one thinks it is.”

“Once you have mastered a technique, you barely have to look at a recipe again.”

“No matter what happens in the kitchen, never apologize.”

“Cooking is one failure after another, and that’s how you finally learn.”

“You learn to cook so that you don’t have to be a slave to recipes. You get what’s in season, and you know what to do with it.”

The Art and Culture of French Cooking

“In France, cooking is a serious art form and a national sport.”

“Just speak very loudly and quickly and state your position with utter conviction, as the French do, and you’ll have a marvelous time!”

“The best way to execute French cooking is to get good and loaded and whack the hell out of a chicken. Bon appétit.”

“Good French cooking cannot be produced by a zombie cook.”

“In Paris and later in Marseille, I was surrounded by some of the best food in the world, and I had an enthusiastic audience in my husband, so it seemed only logical that I should learn how to cook ‘la cuisine bourgeoise’ – good, traditional French home cooking.”

“I still feel that French cooking is the most important in the world, one of the few that has rules. If you follow the rules, you can do pretty well.”

“When I got to France, I realized I didn’t know very much about food at all. I’d never had a real cake. I’d had those cakes from cake mixes or the ones that have a lot of baking powder in them. A really good French cake doesn’t have anything like that in it – it’s all egg power.”

Julia’s Favorite Things

“With enough butter, anything is good.”

“If you’re afraid of butter, use cream.”

“Fat gives things flavor.”

“It is hard to imagine a civilization without onions.”

“I’m a card carrying carnivore. I eat anything and everything in moderation.”

“Forget the cheap white wine: go to beef and gin!”

“Wine is one of the agreeable and essential ingredients of life.”

Wit, Wisdom, and Culinary Confidence

“A party without cake is really just a meeting.”

“The only time to be afraid of a soufflé is when it comes out of the oven.”

“I enjoy cooking with wine. Sometimes, I even put it in the food . . .”

“I believe in red meat. I’ve often said: red meat and gin.”

“Every woman should have a blowtorch.”

“Celebrity has its uses. I can always get a seat in any restaurant.”

“How can a nation be called great if its bread tastes like Kleenex?”

“Always remember: If you’re alone in the kitchen and you drop the lamb, you can always just pick it up. Who’s going to know?”

“Personally, I don’t think pure vegetarianism is a healthy lifestyle. I’ve often wondered to myself: Does a vegetarian look forward to dinner, ever?”

Final Thoughts on Julia Child Quotes

I’ve had so much fun trying Julia’s recipes in my French country kitchen. I always have her in my ear, keeping me in check, which I love.

I recently found out that her home in Provence is now available to stay in, although it’s a little out of my price range who knows maybe one day I will.