NET Festival; White House Red Carpet with Julia Child

Julia Child, television's well-known "French Chef," takes viewers behind the scenes at a dinner given by President and Mrs. Johnson at the White House honoring Prime Minister Eisaku Sato and Mrs. Sato of Japan. In an engaging and personal way, Mrs. Child describes the preparations for the dinner, and the event itself, and also traces the long tradition of entertaining at the White House and its important role in diplomacy. Through her eyes, viewers will witness the "out-front" formalities underlining the importance of Prime Minister Sato's visit. Backstairs, where preparations for the official dinner in his honor are underway, Mrs. Child points up the human values how the White House chef faces many of the same problems as the housewife does in her kitchen when she entertains - not enough room, difficult serving conditions, and in this case, the challenge of serving food to 190 guests. Mrs. Child talks to the housekeeper Mrs. Mary Kaltman, "a sort of super housewife" who is in charge of the entire edifice "from lightbulbs to lobsters." She visits the domain of Chef Henri Haller, discusses with him the preparation of the carefully planned menu with his recipes for vol-au-vent of seafood, noisettes of lamb with artichokes and asparagus, and strawberry mousse. She also has a "little taste" of the food. Mrs. Child describes the entertainment planned for the evening -- singer Tony Bennett -- the arrangement of the dining room, and then the proceedings of the dinner itself, summing it up as "one of the best dinners I've ever eaten; if I could serve it for six people I'd be very proud indeed." In addition, Mrs. Child discusses with other White House staff members their roles in the event. She talks to Walt Rostow, special assistant to the President; Ambassador James Symington, Chief of Protocol; and Mrs. Elizabeth Carpenter press secretary to Mrs. Johnson. The Hon. U. Alexis Johnson, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, also discusses his role in the preparations of Prime Minister Sato's visit prior to his arrival in the United States. "I suppose, like cooking or anything else," he says "if you know how to do it, it looks easy." We then see Mrs. Child and her husband as guests at the dinner, which is held in the State Dining Room, and at the entertainment that follows in the East Room until the President says goodnight. Through all these activities, the program emphasizes the "lived-in" quality of the White House, and reveals its triple function as a historic site, as the executive office of the President, and as official residence. NET FESTIVAL -- "White House Red Carpet with Julia Child" is a production of WGBH-TV, for National Educational Television, recorded in color on film. White House Red Carpet with Julia Child runs approximately 48 minutes in length, a filler entitled "Improvisations," running approximately 10 minutes in length has been added. The total running time is now approximately 58 minutes. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche) NET Festival is an anthology series of performing arts programming.