‘Julie & Julia’ inspires cooks to learn more

At many recent screenings of "Julie & Julia," prominent noshes were buttered popcorn and candy counter confections. But seeing the movie about chef Julia Child and food blogger Julie Powell got Las Vegas residents Angela Shoho and Anjum Ismail hungry for finer fare.

The movie, written and directed by Nora Ephron, collected $43.7 million in box office receipts in two weeks at American cineplexes through Sunday. It details Child's stay in Paris in the late 1940s and early 1950s, her enrolling at the Le Cordon Bleu cooking school, and the origins of her "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." It also tells the story of Powell, who began a blog in 2002 chronicling her effort to make all 524 recipes in "Mastering" in a year's time.

Both stories show women pursuing passions for food and cooking. Luscious meals chew scenery. Meryl Streep, playing the singsong-voiced Child, rolls out pastry and chops mounds of onions. Amy Adams, playing cubicle-worker-by-day Powell, browns meat and fries bread. (Hungry yet?)

Shoho and Ismail, a husband and wife who work in Las Vegas as medical doctors, saw the movie Aug. 8, its second day of release. Shoho said she has always loved to cook, and the movie got her itching to learn new culinary tricks. She told her husband she wanted to attend a cooking class.

"We've been married 12 years," Shoho said. "And I thought it was time to improve my cooking skills. We have a business (Siena Cardiology) and two small children, so it's hard to find the time to do this. But Julie loved cooking, she was a professional and found time to improve her skills. I figured I could, too."

Shoho found a seminar on French cooking for couples at the Creative Cooking School of Las Vegas on West Sahara Avenue. But Ismail balked.

"She said, 'We do have the baby sitter coming on Friday, and we could go then,'" Ismail said. "I said, 'no.'"

The movie's release and Child's birthday -- the star of "The French Chef" would have been 97 on Aug. 15 -- has businesses encouraging customers to find their inner Child.

Las Vegas' Le Cordon Bleu cooking school on Aug. 5 joined 13 other Le Cordon Bleu Schools North America campuses in offering a dinner and a movie event. For $20, patrons enjoyed a special "Julie & Julia"-inspired meal cooked by the school's students and attended a private screening of the movie. Some proceeds went to the local Ronald McDonald House.

Mon Ami Gabi, a French bistro in Paris Las Vegas, on its Web site is advertising a special prix fixe Child-inspired menu featuring French onion soup, duck l'orange and chocolate mousse, for $32.95, plus tax and gratuity.

Catherine Margles, founder and owner of the Creative Cooking School of Las Vegas, said "Julie & Julia" is rattling passions for pots and pans.

"My phone's been nonstop busy. There is more interest not only for classes, but people are also signing up for corporate events and team building at the school."

Lisa Cornish, owner of Chef@YourHome, a Las Vegas-based personal chef business, said she also has seen interest surge for the cooking lessons her company offers. She said the movie resonates partly because of Child's longstanding fame.

"Whether you're in your 20s or your 80s, you know who Julia Child is; she's a culinary icon," Cornish said. "And this movie will make her story a little more new and fun for a crowd that hasn't grown up with her as a figure in their lives."

As of Tuesday, Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" was No. 1 on sales rankings for amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. On Sunday, Child's "My Life in France" ranked second on The New York Times' nonfiction paperback list; Powell's "Julie and Julia" ranked third.

Last week, the Borders bookstore on Rainbow Boulevard was sold out of "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" and had three people waiting for copies, inventory seller Christopher Bell said.

A worker said the Borders on South Decatur Boulevard was down to two copies.

At Dead Poet Bookstore, a shopper grabbed the one Julia Child cookbook in stock within a day of the movie's release, bookseller Ellie Martin said.

"She was jazzed to have it," Martin said of the shopper. "She had remembered watching Julia Child on television. She'd watched her with her mother."

Danielle Liss Blackham of Las Vegas said she ordered cookbooks from The Good Cook, a cookbook club, after seeing the movie. The next day she bought a food processor.

"I was definitely inspired to cook. My husband wants to know when I will make him a duck en croute. (Um, never. I'm not that skilled. I want to be, but I'm not.)," she said by e-mail. "(But) I strongly think there is a dutch oven purchase in our future."

That could be good news for Sur La Table, a cooking and kitchen accessories shop in the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood Resort. Manager Melanie Chesley said she has seen more shoppers checking out Le Creuset, the enamel-coated cast-iron cookware Child made famous.

"I think the movie has reignited people's passion for cooking," she said. "I saw the movie and wanted to make everything in 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking.'"

Shoho wanted to move beyond her reliable repertoire of meals. She was ready to remind Ismail that their wedding anniversary is in a month and that she would like to attend the class in celebration. On his way to work, Ismail had rethought his "no" vote.

"I pulled into my parking space and sent her a text. It said, 'Go ahead and make the reservation.'"

On Friday, Shoho and Ismail joined three other couples at Creative Cooking, for the "Tribute to Julia Child" lesson. Chefs Ryan Tobler and Darnell Harness led the making of quiches with leeks, salads with grapes-in-champagne-vinaigrette dressing, chicken-and-asparagus-stuffed crepes and chocolate-covered strawberries. Students whisked and chopped and buttered and blanched. They flipped (crepe dough) and dipped (berries, once in white chocolate, once in dark chocolate). Then, with clinking silverware and satisfied smiles, they ate.

Pat Moreo, a professor and chairman of the food and beverage management department at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said "Julie & Julia," showed Powell discovering, as Child before her had, that cuisine is both an art and a science and must be pursued with passion.

Moreo said other moviegoers will likely catch the spark that drove Shoho and Ismail to class. The audience at the Aug. 8 Green Valley Ranch Resort film screening he attended stood and applauded as credits rolled.

"I think the movie showed that we, as professional culinarians, need the Julia Childs of the world to keep the fire of passion lit. Of course it has a positive impact, and a lot of people haven't even seen it yet."

Contact reporter Matthew Crowley at mcrowley@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0304.