Though Julia Child only lived full-time in France for a little over five years (from 1948–1956), she and her husband Paul maintained a small cottage in Provence until 1992. For the first time ever, the half-acre property is on sale to the public, with an asking price of about $880,000.
The home was built on a potato patch owned by Child's cookbook collaborator, Simca Beck; Child rather endearingly called it “La Pitchoune,” which means “the little thing” in Provençal. The famous guests who made their way to Child's dinner table are enough to tempt Mastering the Art of French Cooking fans to dip into their life savings and cook for their own flock in her hallowed kitchen (Child regularly entertained M.K. Fisher and James Beard here). But the real lure is that this is the world’s only existing Julia Child-owned and -operated kitchen in a private home. Her husband designed it, modeling it after the one in their house in Cambridge, Mass. (The Massachusetts kitchen is now in the Smithsonian’s permanent collection.) Child’s Cornue stove, though, has been replaced; food writer Patricia Wells owns the original.
The kitchen counters are extra-tall to accommodate Child's height (a modest 6'2), and all the appliances are the original ones the chef actually used. Child's husband and his brother painted outlines of her professional cooking tools on pegboards, which remain part of the decor.
La Pitchoune also has a small living and dining room with a wood-burning fireplace, three bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms, and a swimming pool. A separate building is equipped with a living room, bedroom, kitchenette and bathroom. View the complete listing on sothebysrealty.com.
