Backstage with Julia : my years with Julia Child / Nancy Verde Barr.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

"In 1980, Nancy Verde Barr was drafted to help organize a Julia Child cooking demonstration in Providence, Rhode Island. Barr immediately hit it off with Julia, setting the stage for a relationship that would last twenty-four years - and transform Barr's personal and professional life forever. Now, in this memoir, Barr takes a fond look back at her years with Julia." "As Barr took on more and more work with Julia, she became not only a colleague, but a friend. Barr takes us along as she helps orchestrate television tapings, food photo shoots, and live demonstrations - and marvels at Julia's unflagging energy (no one was allowed to utter the "t" word - "tired"), her wide-ranging curiosity, and her special knack for getting past flubs and setbacks. We meet Julia's beloved husband, Paul, and their extended family of siblings, nieces, and friends, and see what it was really like to have dinner at Julia's (hint: you were required to help cook). And we vacation with Julia in Venice, discovering her mixed feelings about Italian food (she never quite saw the point of pasta)." "Brimming with stories, anecdotes, and snapshots, Backstage with Julia captures the essence of Julia Child - her generosity, her high spirits, and her openness to new ideas and adventures. It's a portrait of a woman who changed the way Americans thought about food and brightened the lives of everyone who knew her."--BOOK JACKET.