Channeling Her Inner (Julia) Child

Having worked at Smith for nearly 40 years, Chapin House chef Tina Atkinson has seen her share of Julia Child Days. This year’s celebration was a little different, and not only because it marked the 20th anniversary of the beloved (and delicious) Smith tradition—it was also the first one where Atkinson donned a Julia Child costume and took selfies with students as part of the day’s student reception in the aptly named Julia McWilliams Child ’34 Campus Center. Atkinson discussed embracing her inner Julia in the kitchen, the art of making baked goods look like flower pots, and meeting Child herself when the iconic chef stopped by King House during one of her visits to campus.

How did you first get into the culinary arts?
I went to high school for it at Smith Vocational [and Agricultural High School], right up the street. I love to bake, that’s my thing, and I had jobs all over the restaurants in Northampton before starting here at Smith in 1987, when I was 19. I was around the same age as the students and I’m very social, so I made a lot of friends and I got to know a lot of people.

How did the idea for you to dress up as Julia Child come about?
I like to cook at home. I’ve got three kids who I teach how to cook, and a lot of times I’ll act like Julia, with her mannerisms and saying “Bon appétit” and all that, so much so that my 17-year-old would say, “Mom, what are you doing?”

I do the same thing at work sometimes, and when we were talking about our Halloween costumes this year, one of the students asked who I was going to be, and I decided on Julia. When I came downstairs dressed up on Halloween morning, my 17-year-old saw me and just said, “Oh my god, you’re actually her.”

It cracks me up, because I just did it as a joke, but when we went to the campus center to take pictures, students were telling me I looked just like her and asking to take photos with me to show their mothers, their families, who grew up watching her. Patty [Hentz, director of residential dining] saw that and brought up the idea of me dressing up for Julia Child Day too, and here we are.

Talk about meeting Julia when she visited campus.
I was working in King House, and we had heard that she was on campus. We were making a lot of her items for tea that day, but we didn’t know she would be coming to our kitchen. We were there with students, rolling out tarts, and they were talking about how cool it would be if she visited, but I thought she’d be too busy doing other things, that there was no way she’d have time. And then, soon enough, someone said, “I think Julia’s here.”

Then, from outside the door, we heard, “Well, hello,” in her iconic voice, and I just knew it was her. I used to watch her on TV when I was a kid, and I got all choked up. I still get choked up when I talk about it. I couldn’t even speak, I just thought, “This is so incredible.” She came in and sat down with her little walker, and she wanted to know what we were making and then she asked, “Can I help?”

While she was there, I had said to her that I wished I had known she was coming because I would’ve brought one of her cookbooks from home to have her sign. And she just pulled out a Sharpie and she signed my chef’s jacket. It was funny, I had it with me the next day and one of the supervisors asked what I had all over my jacket, and I got to say, “That’s Julia Child’s signature.”

What’s your favorite thing about baking?
For me, it’s very calming. Some people like to bake, but I love to bake, and I love to decorate. People eat with their eyes and they like to see what you can turn things into, since you can really make baked goods look like anything. I like making things that look like they’re not supposed to be edible; one of my favorites is making flower pots with hydrangeas in them, and people would ask if they can really eat it. I love watching people’s reactions when they taste something I’ve made.

What’s your favorite thing about Julia Child Day?
Really, just having a good time, watching the students have a fun time, and giving them a good experience through food.