"Dear Avis, "

I caught a matinee of Julie & Julia on Friday, and it tickled both the side of me that loves food an the side that loves to write letters.

The delight of my inner foodie is obvious, the parallel stories of how Julia Child came to cook and another woman's journey to self discovery by cooking her way through Julia's cookbook. The part about writing letters, however, was a total surprise! It doesn't spoil the story to know, but the story of Julia Child's time in Paris was compiled (via Julia's autobiography) by sorting through Julia's letters to her pen pal, Avis, back in the United States. And, in the movie (as well as in reality, I'm guessing) Julia's letters play a critical role in her success publishing her cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

On top of my general interest in letter writing, I found it fantastic that Julia Child wrote on Clairefontaine notebooks. In fact, the filmmakers approached the makers of Clairefontaine to obtain vintage notebooks so that Meryl Streep (who plays Julia) could use authentic paper in the movie.

Admittedly, it's not the kind of film one needs to see in a theater, but if you enjoy food and/or snail mailing, I recommend seeing Julie & Julia. Even if you're not interested in the content, you'll just love Meryl Streep's magnificent performance.


NOTE: Aside from my celebrity crush on Amy Adams, I have no affiliation with anyone connected to Julie & Julia. I also have no affiliation with Clairefontaine paper.