Product Description

In her own words, here is the captivating story of Julia Child’s years in France, where she fell in love with French food and found ‘her true calling.’

From the moment the ship docked in Le Havre in the fall of 1948 and Julia watched the well-muscled stevedores unloading the cargo to the first perfectly soigné meal that she and her husband, Paul, savored in Rouen en route to Paris, where he was to work for the USIS, Julia had an awakening that changed her life. Soon this tall, outspoken gal from Pasadena, California, who didn’t speak a word of French and knew nothing about the country, was steeped in the language, chatting with purveyors in the local markets, and enrolled in the Cordon Bleu.

After managing to get her degree despite the machinations of the disagreeable directrice of the school, Julia started teaching cooking classes herself, then teamed up with two fellow gourmettes, Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle, to help them with a book they were trying to write on French cooking for Americans. Throwing herself heart and soul into making it a unique and thorough teaching book, only to suffer several rounds of painful rejection, is part of the behind-the-scenes drama that Julia reveals with her inimitable gusto and disarming honesty.

Filled with the beautiful black-and-white photographs that Paul loved to take when he was not battling bureaucrats, as well as family snapshots, this memoir is laced with wonderful stories about the French character, particularly in the world of food, and the way of life that Julia embraced so wholeheartedly. Above all, she reveals the kind of spirit and determination, the sheer love of cooking, and the drive to share that with her fellow Americans that made her the extraordinary success she became.

Le voici. Et bon appétit!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13208 in Books
• Published on: 2006-04-04
• Released on: 2006-04-04
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 336 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. With Julia Child's death in 2004 at age 91, her grandnephew Prud'homme (The Cell Game) completed this playful memoir of the famous chef's first, formative sojourn in France with her new husband, Paul Child, in 1949. The couple met during WWII in Ceylon, working for the OSS, and soon after moved to Paris, where Paul worked for the U.S. Information Service. 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 éminence 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'Université ("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. Photos. First serial in the New York Times Magazine and Bon Appétit. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Bookmarks Magazine
More than four decades ago, Julia Child first brought her joie de vivre—and classic recipes—to American kitchens with cookbooks that included Mastering the Art of French Cooking (1961) and a handful of immensely popular cooking shows, beginning in 1963 with the decade-long run of The French Chef. In My Life in France, an engaging, nuanced addition to the body of her work, Child was assisted by great-nephew Alex Prud'homme, who allowed Child's distinctive voice to ring throughout. Child herself worked diligently on the manuscript during the last year of her life. The result is a memoir that brings to life the jocular, grandmotherly guide who introduced so many Americans to the joy of peerless meals conceived and prepared with élan and rich imagination.
Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

From AudioFile
Alex Prud'homme's writing of his great-aunt Julia Child's memoirs is elegant, enthusiastic, and entertaining. Fans of "The French Chef" will thoroughly enjoy the story of how she stumbled upon a love of French food and culture as a newlywed in France. Although abridged, the story flows well, slowly unfolding the triumph of publishing her masterpiece, MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING. Sadly, Flo Salant Greenberg's reading fails to rise to the level of such a public personality. Her French pronunciations are lovely, and, overall, she carries the prose forward, but her readings of Child's actual quotes don't do justice to a woman who seemed generally unable to contain her enthusiasm in life. H.L.S. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

Great Book - Opened my Eyes to Another Side of Julia
Loved the book. I've read it twice now and liked it even better the second time. This give a great insight to how and why she started cooking. It paints a great picture of Paris during the late 40's. Her relationship with her husband was interesting and sweet which presented a different side to her. It shows a vulnerability that I wasn't aware of. Great pictures add a lot to the book. It made me want to know more about her life and buy a couple of her cookbooks Highly recommend it. My Life in France

A happy book
A delightful book for foodies and Francophiles. At last a story of a happy marriage of two successful people.

Hats off to the First Lady of Cooking
This was a wonderful memoir about Julia Child. I especially found it interesting that she fell into cooking at the age of forty. Her passion to learn about cooking and gastronomy, as well as, her love for good food and wine were contagious. It made me want to get in the kitchen and whip something up. I think what Julia said at the end of the book, sums up what I learned by reading My Life in France, "Learn how to cook-try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all have fun!".

While I was reading My Life in France, I watched the video "Julia Child! America's Favorite Chef". I found it to be a good compliment to the book. It was like a visual summary of everything I had read.