Julia Child's Favorite Place To Buy Cookware Is A Parisian Staple

Not only was Julia Child's favorite cuisine French, but she had a special place in her heart for French cookware, too. In fact, her favorite place to buy kitchen tools was at a kitchen supply store in Paris called E. Dehillerin. Found at 18 rue Coquillière in the First Arrondissement (less than a 10-minute walk from the Louvre), the brand has been around since the 1880s and opened the doors to its rue Coquillière shop just 10 years after its inception. 

In her 2006 memoir, "My Life in France," Child wrote that she was "thunderstruck" by the contents of the store, which housed everything from whisks to tiny spoons to her beloved copper pots. Eventually, she struck up a friendship with the owner, and, during the time she lived in Provence from 1948 to 1952, collecting cookware became something of a hobby. Julia Child loved her pots so much that her husband designed a custom blue pegboard so she could hang her 30 pots and pans on their kitchen wall. In their small French kitchen, storage space was limited, but Child loved organization. So, Paul Child cut up and painted some boards, outlined the shape of every pot and pan Julia had onto it, and hung it up inside. 

The pegboard and pot system became so synonymous with the chef that today they are displayed in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History (along with other features of Julia Child's kitchen, like her refrigerator magnets).

The co-curator of the Julia Child's Kitchen exhibit at the Smithsonian, Rayna Green, told the Copper Development Association that Child was not just a fan of the look of E. Dehillerin's gleaming copper pots. The cookware also has plenty of practical value. "Like many people well trained in cookery, she knew that copper distributes the heat evenly in the pan, thus for the kind of precision that French cooking demands, copper is generally the best medium," she said. With their rustic flair and conductivity, it's clear why chefs everywhere swear by pans from E. Dehillerin. (Silverware from the brand was even found on the Titanic.)

After she left France, Child brought her love of this cookware back to America. The hanging pots were a common sight on her cooking shows, and shortly after she reached celebrity status, the cookware brand became famous abroad, too. 

Child used her favorite E. Dehillerin cookware for the rest of her 45-year career. As a professional chef who didn't do many cooking tasks in her microwave, it makes sense why she wanted to splurge on such quality cookware. (For reference, some copper pots sold at the shop retail for around 185 euros before tax, or almost $200.) For all those in the market for professional cookware, the brand is still thriving, so you can be like Child and grab a copper pot for your home. If you can't make it to Paris, the store sells its goods online, too.