pitch unfairly

Cheat Codes · Launches and keynotes

Julia Child, 1963. Pitched unfairly, 2026.

Live, one take, and the potato hits the stove. Same story, same numbers. Rebuilt the way we'd pitch it today.

Template: Webinar and workshop

  • 28 minutes, one take
  • 212 episodes
  • WGBH Boston, 1963
Play the 2026 deck Read the real story Steal the structure
1963 Webinar and workshop

Julia Child

Live, one take, and the potato hits the stove.

Legend
Original craft
Unfair

The story→10 slides

It's a live deck. Press start, then scroll or use the arrow keys, or play it full screen.

Play the 2026 deck

Julia Child's webinar and workshop, slide by slide

Every slide opens the live deck right where it is.

  1. Julia Child deck, slide 1: Tonight you cook boeuf bourguignon. 01Tonight you cook boeuf bourguignon.
  2. Julia Child deck, slide 2: In 28 minutes, French cooking becomes a weeknight dinner. 02In 28 minutes, French cooking becomes a weeknight dinner.
  3. Julia Child deck, slide 3: Julia Child co-wrote the 726-page book on this. 03Julia Child co-wrote the 726-page book on this.
  4. Julia Child deck, slide 4: Twenty-eight minutes, six segments, no edits. 04Twenty-eight minutes, six segments, no edits.
  5. Julia Child deck, slide 5: Brown in batches. A crowded pan steams. 05Brown in batches. A crowded pan steams.
  6. Julia Child deck, slide 6: Things go wrong live. Recover on camera. 06Things go wrong live. Recover on camera.
  7. Julia Child deck, slide 7: Halfway poll: what keeps you out of the kitchen? 07Halfway poll: what keeps you out of the kitchen?
  8. Julia Child deck, slide 8: Three moves, each back on its outline. 08Three moves, each back on its outline.
  9. Julia Child deck, slide 9: The pilots were taped over. The series made it to Twitch. 09The pilots were taped over. The series made it to Twitch.
  10. Julia Child deck, slide 10: Next Monday: French onion soup. Same stove, same time. 10Next Monday: French onion soup. Same stove, same time.

Then · 1963

How it really went

Read the real storyThe French Chef, via Wikipedia (with WGBH and the Smithsonian)
  1. Mastering the Art of French Cooking comes out in 1961, written with Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle
  2. She cooks an omelette on a WGBH book show; viewers write in for more
  3. WGBH's building has burned, so three pilots are shot in a Boston Gas Company kitchen in 1962
  4. The French Chef premieres as a weekly series on February 11, 1963: boeuf bourguignon
  5. Each 28-minute episode is taped live, start to finish, with no edits
  6. A potato pancake flip lands on the stove; she scoops it up and keeps cooking
  7. A Peabody for 1964, an Emmy in 1966, color in 1970
  8. 212 episodes by 1973, and PBS reruns until 1989

Now · 2026 · 10 slides

What we changed

  • The agenda runs like a broadcast clockA studio clock sweeps all 28 minutes in about fourteen seconds, the ON AIR light glows, and each segment lights up as the hand reaches it. Click a segment to jump.
  • You can overcrowd the panDrag the slider past eight pieces of beef and the copper sear turns to grey steam. The demonstration proves the one rule of a good stew.
  • A mishap button, with a playbookCause a mishap (the flipped potato, the burned-down studio, the crackling mic) and a calm three-step recovery plays, followed by what the show really did.
  • The poll answers backVote on what keeps you out of the kitchen and the reply appears on air. The live tally is one vote, and it is yours.

Steal the structure

Build your webinar and workshop like Julia Child did.

  1. 01 Title card and promise Name the session and the one thing people will be able to do by the end.
  2. 02 Housekeeping Say how it runs: live or recorded, how long, and how to ask questions.
  3. 03 Who's teaching One credential the audience can check, plus why this person in particular.
  4. 04 Agenda with times Four to six segments with real timecodes, so people know when the good part is.
  5. 05 Live demonstration Do the thing on screen and let the audience change one variable.
  6. 06 Mistakes and recovery The common mistake, what happens, and how to recover without stopping.
  7. 07 Audience participation A poll or question at the halfway mark, answered on air.
  8. 08 Recap The moves in the order people will use them, not the agenda again.
  9. 09 The replay How the recording will reach the people who watch later.
  10. 10 Next step and take-home One dated next session and the one resource to use tonight.

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