---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The main thing is to have a gutsy…"
description: "\"The main thing is to have a gutsy approach and use your head.\" — Julia Child"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/julia-child-1522_approach_the-main-thing-is-to-have-a-gutsy-approa_824243.jpg"
---

#  The main thing is to have a gutsy approach and use your…

![“The main thing is to have a gutsy approach and use your head.” quote by Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/julia-child-1522_approach_the-main-thing-is-to-have-a-gutsy-approa_824243.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/julia-child-1522_approach_the-main-thing-is-to-have-a-gutsy-approa_824243.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/julia-child-1522_approach_the-main-thing-is-to-have-a-gutsy-approa_824243.jpg)

> “The main thing is to have a gutsy approach and use your head.”

[Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Bold, thoughtful planning combines daring with intelligence for culinary success.

**In simple terms:** Gutsy approach plus head use leads to great cooking.

Key Takeaway

Blend courage with knowledge in the kitchen.

Themes

cooking confidence strategy

Mood

encouraging practical

Type

culinary motivational

When to use this quote

- recipe development
- menu planning
- restaurant management

Key Concepts

culinary technique creative experimentation

Questions to Reflect On

- When should you prioritize caution over daring?
- How does preparation temper risk?

A Different Perspective

Boldness without skill can lead to failure.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Approach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approach/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/)

## Related quotes

> [This intellectual Pearl Harbor, a real gutsy sock to the stomach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-intellectual-pearl-harbor-a-real-gutsy-sock-to-the-stomach/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Um, are you like, coming out at church? Dude, cause if you are, man that’s gutsy, and I’ll have a whole new respect for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-n-gates/um-are-you-like-coming-out-at-church-dude-cause-if-you-are-man-that-s/)

T.N. Gates

> [I have always been a coward as a child. I am not very brave. I am very aware of the fact that I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cai-guo-qiang/i-have-always-been-a-coward-as-a-child-i-am-not-very-brave-i-am-very/)

[Cai Guo-Qiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cai-guo-qiang/)

> [I am not an adventurous person but I am gutsy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahul-vaidya/i-am-not-an-adventurous-person-but-i-am-gutsy/)

[Rahul Vaidya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahul-vaidya/)

> [“She was brave, taking on Grant all by herself. And she was gutsy and feisty, and she never gave up. A woman like that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anastasia-wilde/she-was-brave-taking-on-grant-all-by-herself-and-she-was-gutsy-and/)

Anastasia Wilde

> [I'm pretty gutsy. Dancers don't think about things; they just do them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-morris/i-m-pretty-gutsy-dancers-don-t-think-about-things-they-just-do-them/)

[Heather Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-morris/)

> [Cooking well doesn't mean cooking fancy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/cooking-well-doesn-t-mean-cooking-fancy/)

[Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/)

> [Always remember: If you're alone in the kitchen and you drop the lamb, you can always just pick it up. Who's going to know?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/always-remember-if-you-re-alone-in-the-kitchen-and-you-drop-the-lamb/)

[Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/)

> [No matter what happens in the kitchen, never apologize,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/no-matter-what-happens-in-the-kitchen-never-apologize/)

[Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/)

> [It is hard to imagine a civilization without onions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/it-is-hard-to-imagine-a-civilization-without-onions/)

[Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/)

> [In department stores, so much kitchen equipment is bought indiscriminately by people who just come in for men's underwear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/in-department-stores-so-much-kitchen-equipment-is-bought/)

[Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/)

> [I never feel lonely in the kitchen. Food is very friendly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/i-never-feel-lonely-in-the-kitchen-food-is-very-friendly/)

[Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/)

> [The bigger the canvas, the better I do. I'm not so good at understated, kitchen-sink kinds of parts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/the-bigger-the-canvas-the-better-i-do-i-m-not-so-good-at-understated/)

[Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/)

> [No matter how many great things you say about Jacques Pepin, there's always more. Through his books and videos, he taught me the importance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-kenji-lopez-alt/no-matter-how-many-great-things-you-say-about-jacques-pepin-there-s/)

[J. Kenji Lopez-Alt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-kenji-lopez-alt/)

> [Get out from that kitchen and rattle those pots and pans. Well, roll my breakfast cause I'm a hungry man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-joe-turner/get-out-from-that-kitchen-and-rattle-those-pots-and-pans-well-roll-my/)

[Big Joe Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-joe-turner/)

## More by Julia Child

> [I had my first French meal and I never got over it. It was just marvelous. We had oysters and a lovely dry white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/i-had-my-first-french-meal-and-i-never-got-over-it-it-was-just/)

[Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/)

> [If you are going to flip something, you must have the courage of your convictions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/if-you-are-going-to-flip-something-you-must-have-the-courage-of-your/)

[Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/)

> [My father was in real estate, banking, and land management. As family life, it was very conventional, happy, and comfortable. We weren't wealthy, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/my-father-was-in-real-estate-banking-and-land-management-as-family/)

[Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/)

> [I never feel lonely in the kitchen. Food is very friendly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/i-never-feel-lonely-in-the-kitchen-food-is-very-friendly/)

[Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/)

> [We are so bemused by our own petard, that we are unable to look at things objectively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/we-are-so-bemused-by-our-own-petard-that-we-are-unable-to-look-at/)

[Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/)

> [If you're buying tomatoes pick them up and smell them-they should have a lovely perfume. They need to be kept at fifty degrees or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/if-you-re-buying-tomatoes-pick-them-up-and-smell-them-they-should/)

[Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/)

> [The perfect dressing is essential to the perfect salad, and I see no reason whatsoever for using a bottled dressing, which may have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/the-perfect-dressing-is-essential-to-the-perfect-salad-and-i-see-no/)

[Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/)

> [I think one of the terrible things today is that people have this deathly fear of food: fear of eggs, say, or fear of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/i-think-one-of-the-terrible-things-today-is-that-people-have-this/)

[Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/)

> [“Standing up through the Citroen's open sunroof, my six-foot-three-inch, red-cheeked sister pointed a long, trembling finger at the perpetrator and with maximum indignation yelled:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/standing-up-through-the-citroen-s-open-sunroof-my-six-foot-three-inch/)

[Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/)

> [The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/the-only-real-stumbling-block-is-fear-of-failure-in-cooking-you-ve/)

[Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/)

> [In the 1960s, you could eat anything you wanted, and of course, people were smoking cigarettes and all kinds of things, and there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/in-the-1960s-you-could-eat-anything-you-wanted-and-of-course-people/)

[Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/)

> [I was kind of an innocent hayseed from a middle-class, utterly nonintellectual background.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/i-was-kind-of-an-innocent-hayseed-from-a-middle-class-utterly/)

[Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/)

> [There are only four great arts: music, painting, sculpture, and ornamental pastry- architecture being perhaps the least banal derivative of the latter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/there-are-only-four-great-arts-music-painting-sculpture-and/)

[Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/)

> [“It was fun, although we felt like pawns, or prawns, in the maelstrom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/it-was-fun-although-we-felt-like-pawns-or-prawns-in-the-maelstrom/)

[Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/)

> [Many of the delicious soups you eat in French homes and little restaurants are made just this way, with a leek-and-potato base to which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/many-of-the-delicious-soups-you-eat-in-french-homes-and-little/)

[Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/)

[Explore all 230 Julia Child quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/)

## More Approach quotes

> [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/)

[Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/)

> [I'm in a business where there's complete anarchy. You can't control it - you can only react to it. The control that people traditionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-sorrell/i-m-in-a-business-where-there-s-complete-anarchy-you-can-t-control-it/)

[Martin Sorrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-sorrell/)

> [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/)

[Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/)

> [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/)

[Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/)

> [One of the things I regret about not putting in that book or I think it's there but I didn't really elaborate on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/one-of-the-things-i-regret-about-not-putting-in-that-book-or-i-think/)

[Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/)

> [Ideal for the child and society in the best of times, Rudolf Steiner's brilliant process of education is critically needed and profoundly relevant now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chilton-pearce/ideal-for-the-child-and-society-in-the-best-of-times-rudolf-steiner-s/)

[Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chilton-pearce/)

> [I don't have any particular method, my approach is very simple. I try to understand the emotional graph of the character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pratik-gandhi/i-don-t-have-any-particular-method-my-approach-is-very-simple-i-try/)

[Pratik Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pratik-gandhi/)

> [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Everything, every part that you approach has to be somehow rooted in yourself. You have to somehow root everything so that it's not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judi-dench/everything-every-part-that-you-approach-has-to-be-somehow-rooted-in/)

[Judi Dench](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judi-dench/)

> [Literature transforms and intensifies ordinary language, deviates systematically from everyday speech. If you approach me at a bus stop and murmur Thou still unravished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/literature-transforms-and-intensifies-ordinary-language-deviates/)

[Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/)

> [The whole secret to mastering the game of golf - and this applies to the beginner as well as the pro - is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-palmer/the-whole-secret-to-mastering-the-game-of-golf-and-this-applies-to/)

[Arnold Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-palmer/)

> [The essence of Christianity...is an ever-new encounter with... the God who speaks to us, who approaches us and who befriends us!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/the-essence-of-christianity-is-an-ever-new-encounter-with-the-god-who/)

[Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/)

> [Like a morning dream, life becomes more and more bright the longer we live, and the reason of everything appears more clear. What has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul/like-a-morning-dream-life-becomes-more-and-more-bright-the-longer-we/)

[Jean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul/)

> [What begins as a Utopian vision, always - always - ends in bloodshed. Because you have to force a utopia on a free people.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/what-begins-as-a-utopian-vision-always-always-ends-in-bloodshed/)

[Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/)

> [The only two good words that can be said for a hurricane are that it gives sufficient warning of its approach, and that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-atherton/the-only-two-good-words-that-can-be-said-for-a-hurricane-are-that-it/)

[Gertrude Atherton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-atherton/)

[Browse all 3,949 Approach quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approach/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The main thing is to have a gutsy approach and use your head.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Julia Child"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/the-main-thing-is-to-have-a-gutsy-approach-and-use-your-head/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Approach"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/the-main-thing-is-to-have-a-gutsy-approach-and-use-your-head/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/julia-child-1522_approach_the-main-thing-is-to-have-a-gutsy-approa_824243.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/julia-child-1522_approach_the-main-thing-is-to-have-a-gutsy-approa_824243.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/julia-child-1522_approach_the-main-thing-is-to-have-a-gutsy-approa_824243.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The main thing is to have a gutsy approach and use your head.” — Julia Child",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Julia Child",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The main thing is to have...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/the-main-thing-is-to-have-a-gutsy-approach-and-use-your-head/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/the-main-thing-is-to-have-a-gutsy-approach-and-use-your-head/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
