KCBS In Depth: Celebrating 100 Years Of Julia Child

(KCBS) - Her kitchen is enshrined in the Smithsonian, her cookbooks are still best sellers, and her original cooking shows are still watched - and revered - online.

On August 15, Julia Child would have turned 100. One can only guess what meal she would have wanted at her centennial celebration, but odds are it would not have been a low-calorie meal. From the beginning until the very end, her motto was jump in, with gusto, whether eating or cooking.

"A lot of people don't take an adult point of view of cooking, they act like babies or scaredy cats," Child said in a 1995 interview with KCBS Food and Wine Editor Narsai David, which was re-broadcast this past weekend in honor of her upcoming milestone.

She expressed frustration with the no-fat, no-flavor craze in America, lamenting what a lack of home cooking and dining was doing to a future generations.

Still, lots of people were watching cooking shows and buying cookbooks, giving her reason to cook up a little bit of hope.

"I think people are also realizing that if they have a family they must have a nice, nice meals together. Particularly one once a day so all the family is around," she said.

KCBS In Depth: An Archive Interview with Julia Child:

Her advice to American cooks and diners: eat the cream sauce, the chocolate dessert, the fresh bread and butter.

"Small helpings, I think particularly for us Americans who love big helpings," was her word of caution.

You can hear KCBS In Depth, a weekly half-hour news interview, Saturdays at 5:30a.m. and Sundays at 8:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. on KCBS All News 740AM and 106.9FM.

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