"The moment the cameraman laid eyes on Julia he cried out in exasperation, 'How do you expect me to light this woman?' and he circled her dubiously like a livestock judge at the county fair," writes Bob Spitz in his new biography, "Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child" (Knopf, $29.95). The scene is the first taping of a cooking demonstration by Julia Child, a Cambridge, Mass., housewife who had just written "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." The setting is a studio of Boston's WGBH public television. The time is 1962 when televised cooking shows were unheard of and Americans were delighted with their Swanson's TV dinners.

In walks a 6-foot-3-inch force of nature given to calling even strangers "dearie." She's huge - "Bill Russell huge - the kind of person who filled a room," Spitz writes. "And larger than life: her square footage, swimming in a loose-fitting blouse and pleated skirt, seemed to expand as she swings herself along as if nothing in the natural world could contain her." The cameraman had never seen anything like it. "I take it," she joked with him, "you've never worked with T. Rex."

It was that wit, wisdom and inimitable personality that propelled Julia Child from public television curiosity to international culinary stardom. Quite simply, she changed the way we eat. And in the process she delivered epochal cookbooks, ushered in food television and compelled generations to pick up the whisk and bring better food into their lives. She died in 2004, only two days short of 92.

Today, Aug. 15, she would have celebrated her 100th birthday. For weeks, great chefs throughout the country have held commemorative dinners in her honor; PBS has celebrated with programming and social media initiatives; and millions of foodies have simply stopped for a moment or two to savor all that Child has given them.

We asked Houston chefs what Julia Child has meant to them. How did she influence them, What they learned from her. How she changed the culinary world.

Here are some of the responses:

"At my restaurant I have two of my mother's Julia Child cookbooks, 'The French Chef Cookbook' with drawings and photographs from her husband Paul Child, and 'Mastering The Art of French Cooking.' My mother used these books during the 1960s and 1970s to sometimes cook elaborate dinners for friends and our family. Some evenings we would sit down to a three-course dinner of Timbale D' Asperges avec Crustacés (asparagus flan with lump crab), followed by my Dad's favorite, Bifteck au Poivre aux Champignons Grilles (pepper-crusted sirloin steak with sauteed mushrooms). The finale could be Soufflé au Chocolat (chocolate soufflé), sometimes dramatically tall and light, other times collapsed and shrunken, but always rich and delicious.

"Julia ... took the mystery out of French cuisine for many a home cook and still is doing so, even after her passing. Besides, mom couldn't serve Chef Boyardee every night."

John Sheely, Mockingbird Bistro Wine Bar


"Such a wonderful person and full of energy and love of the world of cooking. Of course she will always be relevant. Especially now when what she did was just real food, not perfect, not fussy, just real food and eating with friends. Gathering people around the table is what slow food is all about - going back to the old traditions, preserving the old traditions."

Monica Pope, Sparrow Bar and Cookery


"Julia matters because she was mythological; as with all mythological characters, she affected how people thought and behaved.

"She inspired people to embrace higher standards; she was a spark (to borrow from the Promethean myth) that elevated the culture of cooking. In the end, Julia ignited a new generation of cooks.

"She was the perfect balance of the comic and the serious.

"She thought that cooking was an art and a discipline that must be taken seriously but, as she told me once, 'I don't know why more people don't try to cook - it never comes out so bad that you can't eat it; and if it looks bad, just put a little chopped egg on top.' That was Julia: be serious and do your best, but retain a sense of humor.

Robert Del Grande, RDG + Bar Annie


"I was in Aspen in June of '93 at the Food & Wine Festival to receive an award from Food & Wine magazine. That year I was selected as one the Top Ten New Chefs in America. I had the privilege of being knighted by the queen herself. Later she stopped by to visit and taste our food. We were serving our corn- smoked crab fingers, and we talked about our similarities in pioneering a new cuisine and introducing it to the American palate. We both saw cooking as a way to communicate culture, affection and a lifestyle that centered around the table. What she did for French cuisine we were doing with Latin. Today, marks the beginning of our 25th year. May we have as good as run as you did Julia.

Michael Cordúa, Cordúa Restaurants


"I met with Julia Child while in a conference with the International Association of Culinary Professionals in Rhode Island. She was sweet, funny and gregarious, ready to please and give advice. She had captured the essence of French cooking, indeed. "When she was asked what was her favorite food, she answered 'butter.' The French can eat anything with butter, raw or cooked. Although cuisine has evolved tremendously since in the U.S., she was the precursor and made it accessible to all."

Marie LeNotre, director, Culinary Institute LeNotre


"It was in 1974 that I opened my first restaurant, Ouisie's Table & The Traveling Brown Bag Lunch Company, on Sunset Boulevard. Flash forward to perhaps 1976, 78? - a late lunch after the rush with maybe three tables lingering. I was in the kitchen when a waitress told me there was someone to see me, no name given. I stepped out from behind the line and headed to the dining room expecting a sales person to greet me or 'The Millionaire' with a check for me. My guest had already been seated at a table by the kitchen door looking out at the dining room, smiling and observing the setting. As I approached I realized who was before me before as the waitress said her name. I was speechless but was able to welcome her to Ouisie's. She picked up from there and (told) me she had been told to have lunch at Ouisie's before she caught her plane. She had the trout, very simple because that was all she ever ordered when traveling. Then she wanted to see the kitchen and … she introduced herself quietly to my cooks with her wonderful smile, sighing here and there with her left hand fanned gracefully over her breasts, her right hand on her hip, leaning over the cooks to see into the tall steaming pots and asking for everyone's names and 'How long have they been cooking?' What a great day."

Eloise Adams Jones, Ouisie's Table

"When I was 8 years old, I began watching Julia Child on PBS' 'The French Chef.' I would sit for hours watching these cooking shows on TV, long before the Food Network existed. Because of Julia, I enrolled at Le Cordon Bleu in France in 1997. It was the same school she attended in 1948 and was synonymous with culinary excellence. Julia was my biggest childhood and culinary influence, of course along with my family - my grandmother, who I loved to cook with, my uncle who had a beautiful vegetable garden, and my aunt who would cook those vegetables. Back then, people took time to prepare family meals at home and everything was so flavorful. "

Ronnie Killen, Killen's Steakhouse

"I never had the honor of meeting Julia Child, but I felt like I knew her from her television shows. She was so personable, and made you think, without a question, that you could do exactly what she did in the kitchen. Her recipes are literally foolproof. No matter your skill level, you can cook like a culinary legend with her recipes. She was such a great teacher.

"Julia Child was the catalyst for taking every day cooking to the next level, for experimenting with different styles of cooking and ingredients you had never heard of before. She broke down perceptions and made us less afraid to screw up in the kitchen. And she will forever be known for her use of butter and cream, which I applaud. Happy birthday, Julia!"

Ziggy Gruber, Kenny & Ziggy's


"I pretty much grew up watching Julia every Saturday morning with my mother. I have to say that was one of my major influences for cooking. She made cooking entertaining even for a young person like myself at the time. I can remember thinking that it's why I wanted to spend time in the kitchen with my mother. She helped to mold my childhood into always wanting to be in the kitchen. Her show was always something I looked forward to. It helped me to learn that food can be entertaining not just a substance, and I think that's what her message was. I don't know if food shows are that specific anymore. She paved the way for kids like me to want to cook."

Chris Shepherd, Underbelly

"She had so much passion for learning and teaching. She taught us how to create good home cooking and cook with the best and freshest ingredients. She taught us the basics of cooking and how to make cooking more pleasurable. Through her book, I learned how to combine classic French techniques with freestyle American cooking and incorporate it in my Indian cuisine."

Kiran Verma, Kiran's


"Even before I met her, I had read all her books. I was a big fan. I always thought that she had the perfect recipe for roasting a whole chicken: you just rub the chicken with butter, fleur de sel, and pepper; and then you roast it. With something as good and as simple as roast chicken, don't mess it up. To this day, every time I roast a chicken, I use her recipe, even though I add my own touch by using sale marino from Sicily.

"She ate at the restaurant a number of times during the 1970s when she was in town promoting one of her books. She was very unassuming, just like in the movie. The first time she came in, I made her pasta with lump crab and red snapper with a mousseline sauce. She loved it."

Tony Vallone, Tony's

"Of the many cookbooks that so many people at home use, Julia's is one because of the trust she created. She showed that cooking was approachable to anyone, that you could also cook like her if you would follow her recipes. She is still important because she is the example of humility and perseverance when you want to learn a different culture. You embrace it and learn it until perfection so you master the subject - in her case, French cooking - so you can really talk about it and write about with meticulous detailed knowledge."

Philippe Schmit, Philippe Restaurant & Lounge