GBH Openvault

French Chef; Bouillabaisse A La Marseillaise

Part of From the Vault. Part of The Julia Child Project: The Cold War, France, and the Politics of Food.

10/07/1970

See the color and gaiety of Marseilles with Julia, and learn how to make this famous fish chowder. Episode opens in a Marseille fish market, showing a woman selling fish that are overflowing the tables. Julia Child explains she’ll be making bouillabaisse, a kind of Provencal fish chowder. Child proceeds to behead a fish before the credits have finished and then moves on to descriptions of the fish market in Marseille. She emphasizes the work of local fishermen and their families, mentioning in passing that a modern port has been built right next to the old port and fish market she’s describing. The episode returns to the studio, where Child demonstrates how to make bouillabaisse. She begins by sautéing leeks, and then shows how to blanche and peel tomatoes before adding them to the sautéed leeks. Then she narrates the herbs she uses, identifying a few as particular to Mediterranean cooking. There is a brief digression in which Child describes how to choose a fish for freshness, this includes another scene from Marseille’s fish market and examples of several kinds of local fish that Child has in her studio. She cuts each fish, noting it has to have already been cleaned and had gills removed. She then chops up a fish “frame” for a stock. There is a brief interlude where Child remarks on how fun it is to shop for fish in Marseille with more scenes of her in the market, and then a return to the studio where she adds the fish to the broth and demonstrates how it should be served. It concludes with another market scene, with one of the vendors describing her recipe for Bouillabasse. Summary and select metadata for this record was submitted by Tracey Deutsch.


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Series
French Chef
Program
Bouillabaisse A La Marseillaise
Program Number

201

Series Description

Premiered locally February 1962 and July- August 1962, nationally in Feb. 1963 - approx. 300 shows produced. 1963-1973.

Original series ran 1963 to July 1966, then went into reruns through September 1970.

In October 1970 the new French Chef 200 series was shot in color and taped on the set at WGBH. Included in the programs were footage of Julia’s summer trip to France.

The 1971-1972 season was a tour of the French Classics: 26 half hour programs designed as a refresher course for experienced cooks and as a jet-assist takeoff for beginners.

After a funding scare, Polaroid funded a full 1972-1973 season. The theme was: The French Chef Faces Life. Julia shows viewers how to cope with situations that reflect the demands of society, family and lifestyle such as Sudden Company or a three course sit down dinner and getting kids involved in cooking.

NOTE: Beginning August 6, 1972, The French Chef repeated popular shows as a captioned edition. Series release date: 2/1962

Program Description

See the color and gaiety of Marseilles with Julia, and learn how to make this famous fish chowder.

Duration

00:28:39

Asset Type

Broadcast program

Media Type

Video

Subjects
Cooking-French
Fish Market
France-Marseille
Marseille
Child, Julia
Genres
Instructional
Topics
Cooking
Creators
Lockwood, Ruth (Series Producer)
Contributors
Morris, John (Other (see note))
Lockwood, Ruth (Producer)
Atwood, David (Director)
Mahard, Frances (Other (see note))
Child, Julia (Host)
Publication Information
Posted with permission from the Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts
Citation
Chicago: “French Chef; Bouillabaisse A La Marseillaise,” 10/07/1970, GBH Archives, accessed December 22, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_FCE3AFA560C24607BBB137BED1CFE183.
MLA: “French Chef; Bouillabaisse A La Marseillaise.” 10/07/1970. GBH Archives. Web. December 22, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_FCE3AFA560C24607BBB137BED1CFE183>.
APA: French Chef; Bouillabaisse A La Marseillaise. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_FCE3AFA560C24607BBB137BED1CFE183
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