by Bob Spitz
First published 2012
Julia Child stands in her cramped Paris kitchen, towering over French cookbooks that might as well be written in code. At thirty-six, she has never cooked a proper meal, yet she enrolls at Le Cordon Bleu cooking school with the determination of someone who has found her calling. Julia struggles through knife skills and sauce techniques while her husband Paul encourages her unconventional dream. She partners with French collaborators Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle to write a cookbook that will teach Americans to master French cuisine in their own kitchens. Publishers reject their manuscript for years, calling it too complex and too long. Julia refuses to simplify her recipes or compromise her standards. The book that eventually becomes "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" represents more than recipes. It captures Julia's belief that good food brings joy and that anyone willing to learn can cook well.
Genres: biography, historical-fiction, 20th-century, non-fiction, cooking, food-and-drink
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: France, Paris
Period: 1930s, 1940s, 1950s
557 pages · Hardcover · Knopf