I have really mixed feelings about this show.
The idea of attending a cooking school in Julia Child's Provence
home sounds amazing, and the scenery and surroundings are beautiful. That is where the connection to Julia Child (and it's "Child", people, not "Childs".) starts - and stops.
The cooking school advertises itself as a no-recipe cooking school-
other than being shown some very basic kitchen techniques and knife skills, the students are encouraged to be creative and combine ingredients in a free-form way.
I like to make up new recipes and dishes and I am here to tell you NOT EVERYTHING goes well together, including various combinations of herbs and spices. I have learned by trial and error in my home kitchen, as opposed to the privilege of coughing up $8000 (yes, that's correct, $8000) to do the same thing in Provence. (Although the location is gorgeous and more visually appealing than my generic Midwestern suburb!)
Julia Child is referenced and mentioned multiple times, but it seems almost disrespectful to her memory that a cooking school located in her Provence home (and getting a lot of publicity from that connection) makes a point of rejecting and refusing to teach even one her most basic, approachable recipes. If her legacy is to be ignored, why bother mentioning Julia Child at all, other than to give the cooking school and location some cachet?
I don't want to rain on anyone's parade - the participants look like they are having a wonderful time, but if I had already forked over $8000 for the experience I would make darn sure I was having a wonderful time as well.