"Julia Child was a visionary who had a unique prescience about what millions of Americans wanted from their food, and that prescience couldn't have been clearer than hearing her talk about the Food Network when it first launched. While shows like "The French Chef" and her many media appearances made her an icon in the '70s and '80s, Child was always a teacher for home cooks at heart."
"In a 1999 interview with the Television Academy Foundation, Child reminisced about her long career. When asked about Food Network, Child notes she had been somewhat involved at the start, hoping it would succeed, but was worried that it was more focused on entertainment than teaching viewers to cook. "They are having a difficult time because they have to get a big audience," she explained."
Julia Child recognized a shift in television cooking programming from education toward entertainment and foresaw audience preferences changing. She supported the Food Network's launch but warned that the channel seemed more concerned with attracting a large audience than with teaching cooking skills. Child observed that popular hosts drew viewers seeking fun and amusement rather than in-depth technique demonstrations. She specifically noted that audiences were unlikely to watch serious lessons such as how to bone a turkey. Some contemporary shows still combined instruction and entertainment, but the overall trend moved toward diversion.
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