I have taught cooking classes in the Canadian arctic, on the prairies, and now in the central USA. Last month, I taught a class at Lori’s Kitchen Store (http://www.loriskitchen.com) in nearby Washington, Illinois. The class was a tribute to the amazing Julia Child. However, learning to prepare Julia’s recipes correctly was a challenge. At one point, even my husband not unlike Julie’s husband in the movie Julie and Julia, got sick of Beef Bourguignon. 

A few days later, I did a book talk at the Illinois Library Association’s annual conference. The instructions were “Kitty, talk about your favorite book right now.”  So, I talked about Watching What We Eat: The Evolution of Television Cooking Shows by New York librarian Kathleen Collins; it is a great read.

It was the convergence of these two events that got me thinking about what Julia and cooking and Kathleen and library science have to teach us.

• French cooking and library work take great patience. From whisking butter into lemony hollandaise to answering the most frequently asked public library question (How do I contact my state representative?), cooking and library science take an amazing amount of patience.
• Lifelong learning needs to be fun. Food television provides fun and learning all in one package. As library workers, if our efforts are not occasionally fun and stimulating, satisfying and engaging we get burned out.
• Cooking and library work require creativity. From making a delicious garlicky meat sauce to planning the best story time ever, creativity is essential. 
• When all is said and done, cooking and library science are all about passion and doing what you love. If what you are doing doesn’t light your fire and on most days give you that inner satisfaction that you are truly making a difference, then maybe it’s time to finds a new adventure.

Whip up some hollandaise or read Kathleen’s book; you’ll be glad you did.  Have a great week, and bon appétit!