Cooking With the French Chef: 2024 Recap and Ranking

Welcome back to Cooking With the French Chef, in which I review episodes of Julia Child’s original show, cook out of the new edition of the French Chef Cookbook and share the results with you. Past posts can be found here.

Since it’s the beginning of 2025, I thought it would be fun to look back at the recipes I tackled in 2024 and pick my favorites, because of course there are favorites. We’ll start at the bottom and work our way up, with links to all the relevant posts, of course.

Granted, I only did about ten of these Cooking With the French Chef posts, and two of them didn’t involve actual cooking, but there are still plenty to choose from. Here we go…

#9: Chop Dinner In Half An Hour

This meal was a pain in the neck. The different components were just OK and my two tasters and I weren’t enthused about it; in fact, we used the consomme as a dipping sauce because nothing about the meal was all that special. The pot de créme was the one exception and the only part of the dinner that I would gladly make again.

#8: Boeuf Bourguignon

The low ranking might seem like sacrilege because Boeuf Bourguignon is so synonymous with Julia Child, but there are other recipes of hers that I like better. It wasn’t bad; just heavy and a little hard to swallow. I’ll chalk it up to the stew beef I used, which wasn’t the greatest quality, and the noodles being a little too big, but I hesitate to make this one again because it’s a lot of effort for what could be a better payoff.

#7: French Onion Soup

The quintessential French recipe, onion soup makes quite the impression, what with the toasty bread, melty cheese, and all-around comfort. While it’s amazing, the only reason this recipe doesn’t rank higher is because it’s definitely best on the first day.

#6: Paella Americaine

Oh my word, this was one amazing dinner. Lots and lots of ingredients and lots and lots of steps, but so incredibly worth it. I never made real paella before and Julia’s version was a great place to start. My only quibble was the overabundance of legumes. If I make this recipe again, and I probably will, I will jettison the garbanzos and keep the peas because peas add color.

#5: Queen of Sheba Cake

All hail the Queen of Sheba! Chocolate, almonds, and egg whites are her raiment, with more chocolate and blanched almonds as her crown. Like any typical queen, this cake is rich, decadent, and often finicky, but if she’s treated right she pays dividends. She was a huge hit at my house and will no doubt make many return engagements.

#4: Chicken Breasts and Rice

Keep it simple, sweetheart. Some of Julia’s recipes are quick and easy and Chicken Breasts and Rice is one of them, because a lot of it involves setting things in motion and watching them happen. My guys enjoyed this one and so did I, a certain now-famous mishap notwithstanding. Next time, though, I’d like to end up with more chicken than six measly tenders.

#3: French Crepes

French crepes are truly delightful…in moderation, and Julia presents two ways of making them in her “French Crepes” episode. Of course, I had to try both of them. The seafood crepes were by far my favorite, although the gateau wasn’t bad, just a little bland and a little too rich. On the bright side, the latter has inspired my husband and I to try making a lasagna with the same ingredients and some shredded chicken, obviously minus the crepes. We’re hoping it’ll be a little lighter than the gateau.

#2: Coquilles Saint-Jacques

By far my favorite of the entrees I made this year, Julia’s Coquilles Saint-Jacques has the distinction of being the only French Chef dish as yet to become part of our regular rotation. If anyone likes seafood, Saint-Jacques is an absolute must. Among other things, it flies in the face of the idea that seafood shouldn’t be served with dairy, and I like that I get an extra cup or two of scallop stock when I make the Parisienne version. That stuff is good in seafood chowder.

#1: Chocolate Mousse

Coquille Saint-Jacques might have been my favorite entree of 2024, but my overall all-time favorite recipe has to be Julia’s chocolate mousse. Naturally making it requires a TON of beating, but it’s more than worth it. This light, frothy, chocolate-y confection was an absolute dream, a massive hit with my tasters and one I will absolutely make again, maybe even for a dinner party.

But wait, there’s more! Our final category is Best Leftovers. I always say the real tests of a recipe are how good the leftovers are and if we even want to eat them in the first place. With my budget I can’t afford not to eat leftovers, and anyway, I like them. Some dishes hold up better than others, though.

And the winner is…Coquilles Saint-Jacques!

While the crepes and the paella were really close in the running, the coquilles really knocked it out of the park because the flavors only got better as the leftovers sat in the fridge. Other dishes were too salty, or too oily, or just not the same as on the first day. The coquilles didn’t have that problem; I wanted more after they were gone. The mousse held up pretty well, too, but it’s mousse so the playing field isn’t exactly level.

Yeah, that does it for our 2024 Julia recipes. What will 2025 bring? Who knows, but as always it will be an adventure.

A new Club 15 post is coming up tomorrow. Thanks for reading, all, and I hope to see you then…

---

The French Chef Cookbook, The French Chef, Volume One (DVD) and The French Chef, Volume 2 (DVD) are available to own from Amazon.

~Purchases made via Amazon Affiliate links found on this site help support Taking Up Room at no extra cost to you.~

If you’re enjoying what you see on Taking Up Room, please subscribe to my Substack page, where you’ll find both free and paid subscriber-only reviews of mostly new and newish movies, documentaries, and shows. I publish every Wednesday and Saturday.