Julia Child's 100th Birthday Bash: Bon Appetit Into The Next Century

All photos by Laine Doss

Julia Child's cake. Bon Appetit.

Read Also: Celebrating a Very-Merry-Un-Birthday for Julia's 100th September 15.
Julia Child Turns 100: Larger Than Life and Full of Joy.

Julia Child was our kind of woman. Not only did she laugh loudly and cook with copious amounts of butter, but instead of dreading her birthday like so many foolish women, the co-author of Mastering the Art of French Cooking and star of television's The French Chef insisted on celebrating her birthday twice a year - on August 15 (her real birthday) and again on September 15, when her friends were back from summer vacation.

Hence the September 15 celebrations that ran throughout the day at and around the Miami Culinary Institute. The celebrations, a collaboration between the school and Les Dames d'Escoffier Miami, included a cooking demonstration by Michelle Bernstein and a five-course themed dinner at Tuyo. The highlight of the day, however, was the evening cocktail reception to celebrate Child's 100th birthday at the Freedom Tower.

The event was hosted by chef Allen Susser, who led the guests in a toast to the chef, author, and television personality.

Over a dozen restaurants and chefs served their best bites, many taken from Child's own recipes. Since there's no such thing as a birthday without cake, the event featured a five-tiered cake patterned with the same fleur-de-lis artwork that's featured on the book that made her famous.

After all the wine and bites at the cocktail reception, it seemed difficult to imagine that many of the guests were continuing on to dine on a multiple-course meal. But then again -- isn't that the best way to celebrate the life of a food legend?

Thierry's Catering served Julia's own coq au vin.

Steven Haas served City Hall's bread pudding.