For what Giulia For production designer Patricia von Brandenstein, the most important aspect of her work was the recreation of the kitchen in Julia Child’s home. Before Julia, played by Sarah Lancashire, travels the world in the series, she always returns to her kitchen to work on new ideas.
Giulia It tells the story of Julia Child when she became famous thanks to her TV show. French cook. There were no cooking shows on TV at the time, but Julia Child had a vision she wouldn’t give up on. She went so far as to pay the entire pilot of her show to prove she could get an audience, and that decision changed the way Americans think about television and cooking.
After it was important to recreate the kitchen down to the smallest detail, Von Brandenstein found old photos and original drawings that Paul and Julia Child had collected when they remodeled their kitchen to suit Julia’s needs. These files proved vital to the entire team as they aimed to recreate the kitchen down to the smallest detail.
Deadline: Things that surprised you at work Giulia?
Patrizia Von Brandenstein: I felt very close to this woman when I started my research. She was an expert in teaching people how to prepare and appreciate what good food can do for health and pleasure. and Sara [Lancashire] It is extremely charming and Julia has endured so much that I felt compelled to finish. I wanted the show to have the same details and care that Julia gave to the food, the book and the personal aspect. We had access to the letters and documents that Julia and Paul left at Harvard. I read a lot about him and learned a lot from his personal letters, photos of his house, recipes and envelope writings. There were so many details that I felt some sort of commitment to bring the same level of detail into the show. And I’m glad I did, because what we have is a very detailed slice of his life.
Deadline: Julia’s home cooking was obviously a necessary set, what was your preparation process?
von Brandenstein: I read your original kitchen remodel plans when you moved in [original] The kitchen was in his early twenties and was not very comfortable for him. So he and Paul designed and renovated their kitchen with a fellow architect and made some drawings. For Julia and Paul, this kitchen was the heart of the house. In fact, I used to cook quite often at the kitchen table. When you came for dinner and were a friend, you ate there. He opened the dining room for Christmas and Thanksgiving, but that’s about it. Julia believed in an honest approach to life, even if she came from a privileged background. He was very direct and I tried to be faithful to her cooking.
And as you know, his kitchen is completely in the Smithsonian. Taken directly from your home, it is not a reconstruction so you can see the signs of aging. But in the beginning, when she first painted it, they were very, very bright colors and that’s what I was trying to follow because we had all the information. We had a number of colors and we had exactly everything because it was shot so many times. And of course Paul painted these black lines on the walls around the pots and pans so they weren’t out of place.
We also got the exact type and brand of your stove which was found in parts by a wonderful guy, Robert Mitchell, who worked with us somewhere on some farms. He found these pieces and brought them back and it was a good result because there was a lot of money to invest, but it’s a cult job for him. We thought it was worth it and then we managed to not only get it back, but also put a fake back in it so we could film it in the oven. So it was definitely worth it.
Deadline: Seeing such a strange feeling Giulia And imagine there are no cooking shows on TV. I love cooking shows.
brandenstein: Now, of course, it’s the whole network. There are competitions, for example. ᲠKini ChefAnd a lot of different cultures are represented, but it all really started with Julie and I think we’re all better. We definitely eat better and healthier because I’m old enough and I remember you couldn’t get a decent coffee in this country between New York and Sacramento. We now have great coffee, great bakeries, great bread all over the country. I know this is Julia’s influence.
Source: Deadline
