Amy Adams explains what real-life cooking skills she learned on the set of Julie & Julia. Adams played the titular Julie Powell in the film, a blogger who works to emulate Julia Child’s cooking. The story intersperses Julie’s story with the story of the real Julia Child, as it spans multiple decades, as Julie and Julia’s lives connect in unexpected ways. Julie & Julia was directed by Nora Ephron, with a leading cast that included Adams, Meryl Streep, Chris Messina, Stanley Tucci, Linda Emond, and Helen Carey.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Adams explains what skill she learned working on Julie & Julia. In this interview, Adams talks about how much she appreciates “the way that the food is treated as a character” in Julie & Julia. This inspired the actor to become more interested in cooking herself. On the set of Julie & Julia, she gained one real cooking skill, learning “how to poach an egg.” She thinks that now, years after the film, it is “the thing [she] probably used the most.” Check out the full quote from Adams below:

The way that the food is treated as a character is really beautiful. And it’s kind of where I started to really focus on cooking in my life, so it was a great gift. I learned how to poach an egg. I know that that’s the thing I probably used the most, my daughter really likes poached eggs, so that’s been the most useful. And an omelet. Eggs and omelets.

What Julie & Julia Means For Adams’ Career
Adams’ Career Took Off Even More After Julie & Julia

In addition to explaining her personal anecdote as it relates to the cuisine of Julie & Julia, Adams also makes an important point in talking about how the food is treated as a character in Julie & Julia. While Julie and Julia do not directly meet in the film, their lives are connected thematically across the decades through their mutual appreciation for the art of cooking. This makes food an essential element to Julie & Julia, rendering it somewhat like a character.

Related Julie & Julia: 10 Things The Real Julia Child Would Disapprove Of Julie & Julia is about a writer who bases a blog off of Julia Child’s work, but there are some things the real Julia Child wouldn’t approve of.

As much as Julie & Julia was an important project for Adams to work on at that particular time in her life, for personal reasons, it was also an important moment in Adams’ career. While the person who gets the most recognition for their Julie & Julia performance is Streep, the film showed that Adams could hold her own with an A-list actor, further cementing her career. She was already on the rise at that point with her Oscar-nominated performances in Junebug and Doubt, but after Julie & Julia she got additional great roles.

Our Take On Adams’ Julie & Julia Experience
It Is Reflective Of The Film’s Themes

Looking at Adams’ experience on Julie & Julia, it is interesting to reflect on how her experience mirrors her character’s. When Julie herself starts her journey to learn all the recipes in Mastering the Art of French Cooking, she is portrayed as a fairly beginner cook. Thus, she has to learn key cooking elements like how to properly poach an egg and more. Adams could empathize with this, as she herself was learning more to cook at that time, aiding her performance.

Source: Vanity Fair/YouTube

Your changes have been saved My List My Favorite MoviesMy Watchlist Julie & Julia Julie & Julia is a 2009 film directed by Nora Ephron, starring Meryl Streep as Julia Child and Amy Adams as Julie Powell. The story intertwines the lives of Julia Child in the early years of her culinary career with that of Julie Powell, a modern-day blogger who aspires to cook all 524 recipes in Child’s cookbook over the course of one year. The film explores themes of passion, ambition, and the intersection of food and life.Release Date August 7, 2009 Runtime 123 Minutes Character(s) Julie Powell , Julia Child , Paul Child , Eric Powell , Simone Beck , Louisette Bertholle , Sarah , Dorothy McWilliams , Madame Brassart , Ernestine , Chef Max Bugnard , Cassie , Regina , Annabelle , John O’Brien , Mr. Misher , Ivan Cousins , John McWilliams , Phila McWilliams , Instructor at Le Cordon Bleu , Minister , Irma Rombauer , Tim , Garth , Annette Director Nora Ephron Expand