Wednesday would have been the 100th birthday of Julia Child. You could call her the original top chef — she not only deciphered French cooking techniques, but brought them to us through TV.

Child, who died in 2004, didn't find her calling until she was in her late 30s and living in Paris. There, she enrolled in the famed Le Cordon Bleu cooking school and later joined a cooking club, where she met Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck, Child's co-authors of the groundbreaking "Mastering the Art of French Cooking."

Folks, including me, learned a lot from Child.

She had a passion for cooking and good food — and that shows in many recipes. She was also a great teacher who made cooking look easy and explained everything to the very last detail.

From her cookbooks, I learned: That when making a beef stew-type dish, like boeuf bourguignon, pat the beef cubes dry with paper towel. This ensures you will get a nice sear. If the meat is too wet, it will steam. Also: Never crowd the beef in the pan.

Child's remarks about roasting a whole chicken are cemented in my mind.

"A well-roasted chicken is the mark of a fine cook," she wrote in "Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home," a cookbook she co-authored with celebrity chef Jacques Pepin.

Bon appétit!