Mastering the Art of French Cooking
Mastering the Art of French Cooking is a two-volume French cookbook written by Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle, both of France, and Julia Child of the United States. The book was written for the American market and published by Knopf in 1961 (Volume 1) and 1970 (Volume 2). The success of Volume 1 resulted in Julia Child being given her own television show, "The French Chef", one of the first cooking programs on American television. Historian David Strauss argues that the publication of "Mastering the Art of French Cooking", "did more than any other event in the last half century to reshape the gourmet dining scene."
Louis Diat
In "Louis Diat's French Cookbook for Americans", Diat compared cooking in the United States with cooking in France. He noted that the key to cooking is appeal. "[Americans] could do it as well as the French, but one has to be interested. In France girls of 11 already are able to prepare meals from watching and helping their mothers. It's early training that does it". Diat proceeded to discuss meat, gravies, fish, and salads. Finally, he added that "fine cooking is the basis of a happy life ... Men like to eat well ... so if you want to keep your husband home, learn to be a good cook." Many of the recipes in this book are derived from the meals Diat's mother cooked.
Diat alleged that American women cannot cook since they "often ruin good food trying to save" money or time. In response to this dilemma, Diat wrote a book entitled "La Cuisine de Ma Mère" to divulge all his "cooking secrets". Diat suggests that they "approach their cooking with imagination, interest and an eye for artistic effects". Ascribing his culinary finesse to his mother, Diat dedicated the book to his mother, "Annette Alajoinine Diat, who guided the early years, inspired the later ones and whose memory is still a spur".