A Conscious Feast by Nicole Aloni

4 Courses, memories à la carte

I’m a member of a professional food organization that sometimes provides me with special opportunities. Two days after seeing a sneak preview of “Julie & Julia,”  I was invited to a small luncheon for Julie Powell at the Fairmont Hotel in downtown Seattle.

First, about the movie—I adored it. And clearly, it has struck a nerve with a lot of people as evidenced by the fact that Julia Child’s masterpiece, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”, has just performed a Lazarus thanks to the movie. Aug. 30 it debuted as #1 on the New York Times best seller list (hardcover) for the first time since it was published over 50 years ago. A whole new generation of folks have been turned on to Julia C. and her passionate approach to classic cooking by this charming movie. Bravo!

Julia Child was a friend and mentor to me (as she was to so many women in the culinary world). Watching Meryl Streep not only channel the woman I knew and missed, but gracefully reconstruct the dynamic relationship she shared with Paul, felt like I’d been given a gift. Thank you, Meryl. Thank you, Nora.

But I digress. Since I know you’re interested, here’s the scoop on Julie, my memories of Julia and what we had for lunch.

The Menu from the Fairmont

Tomato Soup (soup, right…)

Photo Nicole Aloni

I’d never eaten at the Fairmont before. If our lunch was indicative of their standard fare, whoohoo. Chef Gavin Stephenson clearly felt this was a special occasion and he absolutely nailed the menu. The sophisticated 4-course lunch, based on French preparations and Northwest seasonal ingredients, is pictured here. For a nice change, the food tasted as good as it looked. (BTW—I shot these with my iPhone.)

Porcini Mushroom Ravioli with preserved lemon

Photo Nicole Aloni

Over lunch, Julie Powell was open, direct, charming; more than willing to share behind the camera tales of the making of the film. But as the afternoon progressed, I was surprised to note that this perky, newly-minted celebrity still appeared to find Julia’s purported disapproval of her blog painful. Clearly the scene where that is revealed in the movie was very literally drawn from her life.

I like to think I’m too cool for celebrity fawning and Hollywood glamor, but with the coincidence of the emotional movie experience and then meeting this girl who appeared to have stepped right out of the movie—well, I was definitely ferklempt.

Roasted Chicken wrapped in house-smoked bacon, with artichokes and olives

Photo Nicole Aloni

I wanted to tell her that the Julia I knew would have loved the fact that she was passionate about cooking and wanted to share it with others. That she just couldn’t have been disapproving of her efforts. But of course, that’s not the whole story. Julie’s blog was about a lot more than just food and she definitely veered from the respectful attitude toward cooking that was Julia’s bedrock.

But, Julie, if you read this, I’m sorry I didn’t say something encouraging at lunch. At the very least, I’m sure Julia would be thrilled that your efforts have introduced  her treasured book— with it’s careful, passionate depiction of the secrets of fine French food—to a new generation of cooks and diners.  Your sassy, irreverent blog led to a movie that’s done more to create a buzz around sophisticated cooking than anything since Julia’s original TV show.  Now I’m just hoping that all of those newbies actually crack the book and find the joy of an afternoon spent on Canard a l’Orange for themselves.

Finally, a Chocolate Souffle…

…into which they poured a vanilla sauce at the table.

Photo Nicole Aloni