Julie Powell, the famous food writer, best known for recreating every recipe in Julia Child’s cooking book ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking,’ has died at the age of 49. Her husband Eric, made the announcement to The New York Times, revealing that she suffered from cardiac arrest.
Fans of the writer followed her journey after she started a blog in 2002, in which she detailed her adventures, making the famous French recipes, and sharing every achievement and challenge with her readers.
© GettyImagesThe success and influence of her blog was such that Julie would adapt it into a book in 2005, titled ‘Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen.’ Julie’s book gained incredible recognition, and she was offered to turn the fan-favorite book into a movie in 2009, titled ‘Julia & Julia.’
Starring Meryl Streep as Julia and Amy Adams as Julie, the film was a total success, as it also included Julia Child’s autobiography ‘My Life in France,’ showing the parallel of the two women, directed by Nora Ephron.
Described as “the original food blogger,” Julie went on to write another book titled ‘Cleavin: A Story of Marriage, meat, and Obsession,’ based on her own experiences, including her husband’s affairs.
© Columbia Pictures“How very sad. She was so young. I was a huge fan of her blog, and I am definitely old enough to remember when social media was more about being snarky about oneself than putting down others. RIP Julie,” Chef Pim Techamuanvivit said about the tragic death of Julie.
Deb Perelman of the blog Smitten Kitchen, also wrote. “I was shocked to learn this morning of the passing of Julie Powell, the original food blogger. Cooking through Julia Child’s books, she made Child relevant to a new generation, and wrote about cooking in a fresh, conversational, this-is-my-real life tone that was rare back then.”
