Food blogger Julie Powell, who was best known for her cooking memoir “Julie & Julia“, has passed away at the age of 49 at her New York residence on October 26. Her husband Eric Powell revealed that she died of cardiac arrest caused by heart arrhythmia.
Judy Clain, editor-in-chief of Little Brown, described Julie as a brilliant writer and a daring, original person. “We are sending our deepest condolences to all who knew and loved Julie, whether personally, or through the deep connections she forged with readers of her memoirs.”
Who was Julie Powell?
Powell was a chef and blogger whose ambitious year-long project to cook each recipe of Julia Child’s groundbreaking cookbook “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” emerged as the best-selling memoir. It was adapted by Nora Ephron into the hit film Julie & Julia (2009).
Julie at that time had said she was inspired to tackle the difficulty with Child’s work, her approachable and witty writing style. She transformed her blog into the book “Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen”. This was published in 2005 and adapted into a film in 2009 which was written and directed by Nora Ephron. The film had Meryl Streep play the role of Child. It intertwined the stories of Powell’s and Child’s culinary experience.
Julie published her second book Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat and Obsession in 2009. The book gave an insight into her relationship with her husband.
Loss to the Culinary World
Julie Powell’s death is a great loss to the culinary world. Amanda Hesser, the food editor who wrote about Powell’s project in the New York Times in 2003, said Julie’s writing was so fresh, spirited and sometimes crude. “And so gloriously unmoored to any tradition. The internet democratized food writing, and Julie was the new school’s first distinctive voice.”
Judy Clain, Julie’s publisher, paid a tribute saying Julie & Julia became an instant classic and it is with gratitude for her unique voice that we will now remember her dazzling brilliance and originality.
Powell is survived by her husband, a brother and her parents.
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