OXO, Cuisinart, and Julia Child: The Secret (Accessible) History Behind Your Kitchen
2/10/202651 min
For many people with disabilities, the kitchen can seem a deeply unfriendly place. From counters that require users to stand and cabinets that are often out of reach, to ovens that can’t be opened in mobility chairs and tools that are hard to grip or difficult to read—cooking can seem like an impossible challenge. But it doesn’t have to be this way. In fact, since the mid-1900s, researchers, designers, and people with disabilities have worked together to reimagine the kitchen in ways that have made it better for all of us. Listen in for this hidden...
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First 90 secondsJules Sherred· Guest0:01
[upbeat music] By the time I was in my early 20s, it had gotten to a point where I could not get out of bed. I could not do anything. So I went from cooking a bazillion hours a day to not even being able to get out of, out of bed, and it was really awful because I love cooking so much. It's like my happy place. It's very soothing. Um, so yeah, I just... It was awful.
Cynthia Graber· Host0:29
Jules Sherred suffers from a progressive autoimmune disorder, and then on top of that, an untreatable spinal cord tumor is slowly leaving him paralyzed, and this all has severely restricted his abilities.
Nicola Twilley· Host0:40
His mobility and his dexterity are limited, and he experiences a lot of pain and fatigue, and for a while, all of that ruined his relationship with the room that, like he says, had previously been his happy place: the kitchen.
Jules Sherred· Guest0:54
Oh, I hated it. The kitchen is a torture chamber.
Cynthia Graber· Host0:57
Today, Jules not only is happily back in the kitchen, but he's the author of a cookbook called Crip Up the Kitchen. So what changed? What adaptations and tools did Jules need to make the kitchen work for him again?
Nicola Twilley· Host1:07
For that matter, what does it take for a blind cook to win MasterChef and run a James Beard-nominated restaurant?
Cynthia Graber· Host1:14
This episode, Betty Crocker, Julia Child, and the Butter Chicken Lady all help tell the story of how the kitchen became a more welcoming and accessible place for everyone.
Nicola Twilley· Host1:23
And how the tools and techniques developed along the way have become key parts of all of our cooking lives