Julia Child receives award from the Culinary Institute

HYDE PARK, N.Y. -- In an assembly hall at the Culinary Institute of America packed with cheering students, Julia Child was presented with a unique award, a "lifetime achievement award," the first such honor the CIA has ever bestowed on anyone.

"We have given her all the other awards we have to give," President Ferdinand Metz said Tuesday making the presentation to the food-world luminary they referred to as La Grande Dame of American cooking.

Students had again and again told Child, 89, that they had watched her television shows along with "Sesame Street" in early childhood, and had been inspired by her to take up cooking as a profession.

Child in return told them how lucky they were to be studying cooking, "such a noble profession."

Her advice to them emphasized the need to learn all they possibly could and to work with the very best people. "Go into it with your whole mind and heart and soul," she said.

Highlights of Child's answers to their questions:

Career advice? Aim to know the profession from the bottom up, "so you're not fazed by anything."

What did she remember as a tough learning challenge? Making a French baguette.

Her favorite meal? "Something with duck. I like to begin with oysters; there should be a lovely fresh green vegetable, and potatoes Anna."