Summary
A renowned chef rates the accuracy of Meryl Streep’s omelette scene in 2009’sJulie & Julia. The movie, which was written and directed by Nora Ephron, in part follows Julia Child at the start of her cooking career in the 1950s. One of the film’s most well-known scenes shows Child making an omelette while attending Le Cordon Bleu culinary school.
In a video forInsider,Michelin-starred chef Paul Liebrandt breaks down several cooking scenesfrom movies and shows, rating them for accuracy. Check out the video below for his take onJulie & Julia’s omelette scene (found at the 17:40 mark):
Liebrandt gives theJulie & Juliascene a seven out of ten, explaining that even today, new cooks are asked to make omelettes as a test of their initial skills:
I love the beginning of the scene here. Everyone’s making an omelette. That’s one of the tests that we always give to the young cooks…It’s not about how good you can cook the omelette. It’s about watching. What sensibility do you have? Is it really too hot, is it not hot enough? How are you working? Do you understand the building blocks? It’s a really good one to kind of get a quick idea of someone’s hand skill before you get to help them develop.
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Julie & Julia’s Legacy Explained
Cooking-Focused Shows & Movies Remain Incredibly Popular
The response toJulie & Juliawas largely positive when it was released. Critics singled outStreep’s performance in the movie, and most of the awards and nominations it received were for her role as Child. The films remains popular today, and the care Ephron took with depicting its food scenes is part of the reason why it holds up.It’s clear from Liebrandt’s analysis that the omelette sequence is quite accurate, which helps immerse viewers in the film and Child’s world.
Julie & Julia’s success paved the way for food-focused movies and showsin recent years, with the genre still a big hit with audiences. Just in the last couple of years, shows such asThe BearandLessons in Chemistryhave been released to wide acclaim. WhileThe Bearis pretty different fromJulie & Juliain tone,Lessons in Chemistrydeals with many of the same themes and takes place around the same time Julia Child’s career was on the rise.
While there will likely always be an interest in stories centered around cooking,audiences remain interested in Child specifically. In 2022, Max releasedJulia, a show based on Child’s life that ran for two seasons. WhileJuliawas canceledearlier this year, it’s hard to imagine it will be the last movie or show about Child, particularly as audiences continue to revisitJulie & Julia15 years after its release.
Julie & Julia
Cast
Julie & Julia is a 2009 film directed by Nora Ephron, starring Meryl Streep as Julia Child and Amy Adams as Julie Powell. The story intertwines the lives of Julia Child in the early years of her culinary career with that of Julie Powell, a modern-day blogger who aspires to cook all 524 recipes in Child’s cookbook over the course of one year. The film explores themes of passion, ambition, and the intersection of food and life.
