MacGourmet News

After reading an excellent advance excerpt from this book in Bon Appetit, I must say this will probably be one of the most fascinating books on cooking this year. Back before the Food Network and all of the cooking shows on PBS, a young American discovered French cooking and shared it with the rest of the world. From the Publisher's Weekly review on Amazon.com:

Child describes herself as a "rather loud and unserious Californian," 36, six-foot-two and without a word of French, while Paul was 10 years older, an urbane, well-traveled Bostonian. Startled to find the French amenable and the food delicious, Child enrolled at the Cordon Bleu and toiled with increasing zeal under the rigorous tutelage of eminence grise Chef Bugnard. "Jackdaw Julie," as Paul called her, collected every manner of culinary tool and perfected the recipes in her little kitchen on rue de l'Universite ("Roo de Loo"). She went on to start an informal school with sister gourmandes Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle, who were already at work on a French cookbook for American readers, although it took Child's know-how to transform the tome - after nine years, many title changes and three publishers - into the bestselling Mastering the Art of French Cooking (1961). This is a valuable record of gorgeous meals in bygone Parisian restaurants, and the secret arts of a culinary genius.

Based on the except I read, I've already ordered it, and can't wait to read the whole thing. Order your copy of My Life in France today!