Julia Child - Later kitchen (B&W)

[vacbear58]

Since watching the recent dramatization of Julia Child's early television work I have been catching up on some of the original programmes on YouTube.

This broadcast (which I am guessing is from the mid-60s) features a different kitchen from previous ones and I am curious about the control panel which appears just to the left of the ingredients shelves. It does not appear to be related to any appliance and I wondered what its purpose might be. Could it be a radio? I presume the cook tops and ovens are GE but there appears to be a dishwasher in there too. Is that GE as well?

Thanks

 

[vacbear58]

So, after posting that last video, I moved on to another. I seems to be a similar set although not quite the same, but I see there is, apparently, another of those control panels on the left hand side of the cooktop against the wall - it can be seen about 10:50 into the video. I can see the control panel to the right of the cooktop is for the cooktop. The ingredient shelves are gone in this one but the other control panel is in the same place

 

[luxflairguy]

Sorry, video's don't work! Greg

 

[qsd-dan]

The videos work but are blocked in the US.

 

[bradfordwhite]

Don't know the range and hood but here she's got a washer dryer in coffee brown for some reason. Did she do laundry on the show?

 

[bradfordwhite]

Def a double GE oven

Is that a Frigidaire washer dryer?

 

[ea56]

The stove top is a GE and I believe the washer and dryer were Maytags. Many homes at that time had the washer and dryer in the kitchen so I believe they wanted the set to replicate what an average kitchen that was well furnished with the latest appliances would look like.

And in the early 60’s when the first shows were produced Coppertone appliances were the rage. Thats what we had in our home.

Eddie

 

[sudsmaster]

Couldn't find any JC videos from the 60's, but this one is from '85...

 

 

[bradfordwhite]

Classic Julia Childs I remember

"...and DIP it into your flames..."

 

[sudsmaster]

Wait a minute!

 

Here's one from 1963!

 

 

[sudsmaster]

The full Potato Show:

 

 

[appnut]

The Washer & dryer are Frigidaire.

 

[sudsmaster]

The Quiche Lorraine Show:

 

 

[vacbear58]

OK, so the episodes and pictures shown above are from, I believe, the first season. I have taken some screenshots of the later kitchen which now has a "window" behind Julia, no washer/dryer set and the oven off to Julia's right or our left as viewers. These pictures are from Elegance With Eggs which is the episode with the small ingredient shelves to the left of the window and the control panel to the left of that. You also get a good view of the dishwasher in the 4th shot

 

[vacbear58]

And the alternate view of that same kitchen. The Ingredient shelves have gone and the curtains on the window are different. On the last two pictures you can see the second control panel to the left of the cook top, right by the oven. It is NOT the controls for the cook top which are on the right, just visible behind Julia in the penultimate picture. It is the usual GE push button arrangement, mounted on the wall. The episode is called Vegetable Adventures

 

[sudsmaster]

The French Omelette

 

 

[foraloysius]

Here is a close up of what Alistair is talking about. It's a rather vague picture, sorry about that. So what is this?

 

[vacbear58]

Season One

I actually found a somewhat similar control panel in the first season too, you can see it on the right hand side of the oven as we look at it. In the second picture you can see both it on the left of the cook top and the GE press button controls on the right

 

[jamiel]

I suspect that is an "outlet center" with heavy duty and timed outlets for countertop appliances (blenders/coffee makers/electric skillets) and has no connection to the stove. These have been discussed in other threads--primarily a convenience to allow heavier-duty wiring in only one place.

 

[vacbear58]

Casserole Chicken

The episode I took the screen grabs from is from a different poster so it may play for US members



I wonder if it is an earlyish one - unusually sponsored by S&H (pink) Stamps and it seems like she might been a little ahead of time as she fills with details of the next week at the end, fumbles the words ("Welcome to The French Chef") and most importantly no "Bon Apetit"

I also caught a Foundation Of Television Interview (those are wonderful with all sorts of TV people) where she mentions that the first 13 episodes she made (including the pilots) were no longer in existence - they were shot in the GAS company's demonstration kitchen rather than that of the electric company which she seemed to use ever after, in one form or another.

As it was (originally at least) the electric company's demonstration kitchen it could account for the washer and dryer set in the background which was presumably used for demonstrations at other times

 

[foraloysius]

This looks close to Julia's. A kitchen appliance automatic control panel.

https://retrorenovation.com/2011/12...ic-control-panel-4-other-designs-ive-spotted/

 

[combo52]

Early Julia child shows

The first shows had GE cooking appliances and there was a Frigidaire washer and dryer in the background.

These first shows were done in the test kitchen at Boston Edison that’s probably why the washer and dryer were there.

Once they had their own set they pretty quickly went to Thermidor cooking appliances, and over the years they had a variety of different refrigerators including a subzero, they finally went to the nice Thermidor side by side wall ovens.

 

[turquoisedude]

The dishwasher...

It's a GE, an SU70 model.  That was the Top Of The Line of the GE pull-outs made only in 1960 and 1961.  The 1960 model had an integrated rapid-advance timer; the 1961 reverted to an exposed 'half-moon' timer dial on the front panel.   I'm fighting with the 1960 SU70 dishwasher at the moment - I could spot one from 10 miles away... LOL 

 

[iej]

That control panel looks interesting. Was it useful or just one of those kitchen gimmicks of the era?

Non-grounded, handheld, metal kitchen appliances too!

 

[bradfordwhite]

Certainly well intentioned.  It was an easy way to add abundant plugs, a  light, a clock, timed outlets, and (if not mistaken) a fuse to a kitchen work area that in the 1950s, there were still plenty of houses that did not have electric, or adequate electric plugs in the kitchen.  

 

I doubt it sold many because for those on a budget, it would be easier and cheaper to just install an outlet.  For those with more money, why would you want to install something like this that would require all your appliances to be within 3' of it?

 

[bradfordwhite]

One without timer and has weird version of three prong plugs.  Plus this one has a cord on it.  

One would think you'd want to have at least 2- 20 amp single-pole circuits feeding this plug center.  A mere 15 amp cord isn't really going to cut it.

 

And why no clock?  How am I supposed to know when my potatoes have boiled enough so they can be mashed?  What if I want to plug in my coffee pot and have it come on in the morning?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/304525209823?hash=item46e71df0df:g:2sUAAOSwIj5inRRK

 

[bradfordwhite]

Greet SCOTT Batman!

Only 4 two-prong outlets and it's not even working?

 

[iej]

I’m just wondering though, what would have been timing?
I could sort of understand maybe crockpots or something simple like that, maybe old fashioned drip coffee makers could have been switched on and would have activated when the power came on?

I suppose though you get plenty of gimmicky kitchen things that appear and disappear again.

Very reminiscent of the control panels of mid-century stoves and cookers. We had plenty of them with complicated clocks and eye level control panels with lights. I don’t think many people ever used them - the clocks weren’t all that intuitive.

1970s Creda Carefree clocks:

 

[bradfordwhite]

Ireland-guy

Yes, that timer with the three knobs seems rather ubiquitous.  Our 70s Whirlpool built-in oven had something similar.  Nearly every stove or oven I've come across with an analog clock that has start/stop features looks the same.  

 

Before the drip coffee maker craze of the late 70s, I don't think coffee makers came with a built in timer.  What other (stinky) appliance would be as connected to a desire for some people to want to have it come on automatically at a certain time.  

 

The drip coffee makers had the space on them to have a built-in timing device where as a percolator would not have.

 

In the 70s, my Dad installed one of these intermatic permanent install timers in place of an outlet for our avocado and stainless percolator.  It has two outlets on the bottom, one is timed.  I can still hear the subtle ticking noise it made.  When we got a new GE drip coffee maker they no longer needed the timer thing and wanted the coffee maker next to the sink where it was easy to fill.

 

[jamiel]

The timer was for the percolator (remember we didn't have automatic drip coffee in the US till the mid 70s) and an further case (which was my grandmother's use) was for a small oven (bigger than toaster oven) which baked a small meatloaf and a couple potatoes very nicely in 45 minutes which she set up to start at 5:15 and turn off at 6:00 (as her last violin lesson ended) so they could sit down to dinner at 6:15.