Julia Child

The renown chef and public television star, who died in 2004, spoke to Fresh Air in 1989 about the food she ate as a child in Pasadena, Calif. Child is the subject of the new documentary, Julia.

The TV star and educator talks about her early days in food, her training and teaching in France, and how anyone can learn to cook and eat well.

World-renowned master chef Julia Child died Thursday at the age of 91. She spent three decades explaining the mysteries of classic French cuisine to modern American audiences. Child hosted several cooking shows on public television, earning Peabody and Emmy Awards in the process, and wrote nine cookbooks.

The Food Network draws more viewers than any of the cable news channels, but Americans are actually cooking less than ever. Food-culture writer Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma) ponders the phenomenon.