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."
M. F. K. Fisher
In 1966, Time-Life hired Mary to write "The Cooking of Provincial France." She traveled to Paris to research material for the book. While there, she met Paul and Julia Child, and through them James Beard. Child was hired to be a consultant on the book; Michael Field was the consulting editor. Field rented out the Childs' country home—La Pitchoune—to work on the book. When Fisher later moved into the home immediately after Field, she found the refrigerator empty. She remarked: "How could a person who loves food be in the south of France and not at least have a piece of cheese in the refrigerator?" Fisher was disappointed in the book's final form; it contained restaurant recipes, without regard to regional cuisine, and much of her signature prose had been cut.