Julia Child Maxims

Excerpts from a June 2000 interview in Esquire:

Fat gives things flavor.

People are uncertain because they don't have the self-confidence to make decisions. The measure of achievement is not winning awards. It's doing something that you appreciate, something you believe is worthwhile. I think of my strawberry souffle. I did that at least twenty-eight times before I finally conquered it.

There is nothing worse than grilled vegetables.

Moderation. Small helpings. Sample a little bit of everything. These are the secrets of happiness and good health.

You need to enjoy the good things in life, but you need not overindulge.

I don't eat between meals. I don't snack. Well, I do eat those little fish crackers. They're fattening, but irresistible.

If you're in a good profession, it's hard to get bored, because you're never finished--there will always be work you haven't yet done.

The problem with the world right now is that we don't have any politicians like Roosevelt or Churchill to give us meaning and depth. We don't have anyone who's speaking for the great and the true and the noble. What we need now is a heroic type, someone who could rally the people to higher deeds. I don't know what's to become of us.

Drama is very important in life: You have to come on with a bang. You never want to go out with a whimper. Everything can have drama if it's done right. Even a pancake.

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?

I like her candor. It's the type of candor you only can express after seeing life through the honest lens of age.
I don't agree with her drama line. Drama might be important in cooking. I see drama more as conflict than entrance and denouement.