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."
Jacques Pépin
In 1959, Pépin came to the United States to work at the restaurant Le Pavillon. Soon after his arrival, Craig Claiborne, food editor at the "New York Times", introduced Pépin to Helen McCully, who took him under her wing. McCully introduced him to Julia Child sparking their long friendship and collaboration. Eight months later, in 1961, Howard Johnson, a regular Le Pavillon customer, hired Pépin to work alongside fellow Frenchman Pierre Franey to develop food lines for his chain of Howard Johnson's restaurants, while Pépin was attending Columbia University.