You Can Now Cook in Julia Child's Kitchen

If you inhale deeply enough, perhaps you'll still smell her beef bourguignon. The French cottage that Julia Child built with funds from the second volume of Mastering the Art of French Cooking is up for rent on Airbnb in what Bloomberg calls "one of the company's most special offerings." The Provence home where Child spent her summers for three decades is now owned by Americans Evie and Makenna Johnston, who are, in a way, keeping up with tradition. The culinary legend often opened up her home to friends. She even had a little black book full of recommendations for the best butchers and fishmongers, as well as careful instructions on how to use her erratic oven.

The book, like everything else in the kitchen, is just as Child left it—except for the oven, which has been replaced with a new, state-of-the-art one. The cottage—built on land then-owned by Child’s co-author, Simone Beck—is currently renting for $628 per night for a minimum of five nights, but the Johnstons also plan to introduce week-long, six-person culinary and yoga retreats next year. While a stay might be pricey for some, two lucky winners of an Airbnb contest got the chance to visit the cottage on Sunday, prepare a meal in the kitchen, forage for herbs in the garden, and shop the nearby markets, per Conde Nast Traveler. (This Airbnb rental came with a crime scene.)