Sheryl Julian is an Army brat, raised in the tradition that any little excuse is a good enough reason to invite people over for cocktails and dinner. She was raised on Army bases along the East Coast and in Europe until her family, who are Bostonians, settled in Boston.

Entertaining was the springboard to food writing, but her actual route was circuitous. She began at the Washington Star newspaper and met Anne Willan there. Anne was the paper’s food editor and went on to write cookbooks and open La Varenne, a bilingual cooking school, now located in Burgundy.

With Anne as editor and Sheryl as her assistant, they spent three years working on the Grand Diplome Cooking Course, based on weekly magazines from London’s Cordon Bleu Cookery School.

With Anne’s encouragement, Sheryl attended the Cordon Bleu in London, then the Cordon Bleu in Paris. She joined Anne in Paris at La Varenne, where she was assistant director for a brief stint.

What she really wanted to do was to become a pastry chef and own her own shop. Most of the other students from cooking school were restaurant chefs. Sheryl taught cooking, catered, and wrote food articles, first for the Washington Post, later for the Boston Phoenix as food editor for six years. She was waiting until the right little bakery came along.

One day, George and Harriet Berkowitz, owners of the well-known seafood chain Legal Sea Foods, called to ask for cooking classes. They would be held at their bakery, the Legal Sweet Shoppe, in Cambridge, Mass. After a few months of weekly classes, the Berkowitzes offered her the bakery.

“Try it for two weeks and see what you think,” said George.

It was the perfect cure. She has been writing ever since.

For the last 20 years, Sheryl has worked for the Boston Globe, writing and styling a food column in the Boston Globe Magazine. Julie Riven joined her 10 years ago. She has also been the food reporter at the newspaper, writing about people in the food business, trends, agriculture, and good cooks, winning several awards.

Two years ago, she became food editor and now oversees the Wednesday food section. She also teaches food writing at Boston University.

 

In Montreal, where Julie Riven grew up, Moishe’s Steak House was the place where everyone gathered. The steaks were thick and luscious and they came with a vinegary coleslaw. You could get all you wanted. One day, Julie’s mother, Ghita, decided to reproduce Moishe’s Montreal slaw and it became a staple in her household. It joined wood-fired bagels, smoked meats, and some more typical Quebecois dishes.

There was already good hearty food at home, but Julie didn’t give a thought to a career in the food business because she was headed to McGill University for a Bachelor of Science in nursing. Her father was a general practitioner in Montreal and her oldest sister was in medical school. Julie followed them into the medical field and spent 18 years in both clinical and academic work, beginning with a teaching post on the faculty of nursing at McGill and ending as a certified nurse practitioner in high-risk obstetrics at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston.

When she decided to change careers, she attended the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts in Cambridge, Mass., which meant that she could study for a chef’s degree and stay close to her young family. When she graduated, she cooked at Michela’s restaurant under Todd English, who was just starting out in Boston. Todd has an empire now, which includes Olives and Figs.

She became a cook at a private boys’ school in Boston. The Roxbury Latin School is one of the oldest schools in the country, run a little like it was when America was young and it had not lost its English idiosyncrasies.

The boys named her kitchen the “Ritz Roxbury.” She even got a favorable write-up in the school newspaper. Some of her favorite baking recipes were developed there. The boys were ideal tasters: attentive and critical and not shy to voice comments and criticisms – whether or not she asked for them.

Julie joined Sheryl Julian 10 years ago and picked up food styling quickly. She was already well versed in the art of testing and retesting.

Together they write the recipes and style the photographs for a weekly column in the Boston Globe Magazine. She also contributes to the Boston Globe food pages.

Her three boys, who are adults, are all accomplished cooks. Her middle son is a chef and food writer.