Julia Child exhibition opens new Napa Valley Museum flagship location in St. Helena.
The Napa Valley Museum of Art & Culture, aka The MAC, opened in April 2025 in St. Helena with “Julia Child: A Recipe For Life.” The museum’s new flagship location shares part of the former Dean & DeLuca (later Gary’s) food and wine space with Under-Study, a café, marketplace, butcher, bottle shop, and patisserie by the team at PRESS Restaurant.
Interactive TV Set
The exhibit about the world-famous co-author of Mastering the Art of French Cooking and author of several other books incorporates video and audio recordings of Child; photographs, including some by her husband, Paul Child; and an interactive television set of The French Chef. Boston’s WGBH produced the groundbreaking cooking show for NET, the public television predecessor to PBS.
“Julia Child: A Recipe for Life,” mounted in partnership with the designers at Flying Fish, builds on an earlier collaboration, “France Is a Feast: The Photographic Journey of Paul and Julia Child.” That show, which debuted in 2017 at the Napa Valley Museum’s Yountville facility, evolved into an international touring exhibition. The St. Helena iteration documents key points in the famous chef’s timeline, bringing them to life with entertaining and educational interactive components. Laura Rafaty, the Napa Valley Museum’s executive director, was instrumental in organizing both shows and another at the CIA at Copia in 2020.
Under-Study
A large window in the exhibition space provides a view of Under-Study, which, through its affiliation with the Michelin-starred PRESS, instantly ranks among California’s top museum restaurants (with a separate entrance for those not attending the show). Under-Study is open until 11 am for breakfast (French toast sticks, buttered lobster omelets, smoked trout rillettes) and until 5 pm for “signature bites” (lobster caviar corn dogs, octopus truffle mole, Wagyu skewers), and snacks (avocado kosho toast, black truffle fries, cheeses, and charcuterie).
Teaching Kitchen classes begin with the Tsar Nicoulai Caviar 101 & Schramsberg Tasting (July 19th), followed by Make Your Own Candy Bar (July 26th), Focaccia—Yes! (August 2nd), and Learn to make PRESS’ Ricotta Gnudi (August 9th). Chef-partner Philip Tessier of Under-Study and PRESS (which is steps from Under-Study and the museum) is teaching the last one.