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: #54790 in Books
• Published on: 2006-04-04
• Released on: 2006-04-04
• Original language: English
• 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

Interesting, but Disappointing
Gee-- I can't believe I'm one of only a handful of reviewers that didn't love this book! I was just a kid during the 1970's, and I have such fond memories of watching Julia "The Cook Lady" Child with my mom and sister. I wanted to learn what she was really like as a person and BOY was I disappointed. What I learned about Julia: she was a priviliged, elitist food snob who held such disdain for who and where she came from that she became "French-i-fried" almost overnight! I enjoyed the descriptions of French life and food, but I didn't appreciate the condescension. I still respect her for popularizing French cuisine in America, but after reading this book I feel like she was aspiring to be something she was not. My imagined Julia was down-to-Earth and grandmotherly. Needless to say, I didn't get that. If you are interested in vividly detailed descriptions of French food and wine, then you will probably enjoy this book. If you are looking for personal insight, maybe not as much...

My Love of Julia Child
I bought this book sometime ago meaning to read it. But as I am in the 1st year of starting my new business (a pastry shop) I have not had time. But then I remembered Audio Books so I downloaded it and I am now in the process of listening to it. Julia's love of food is contagious if I was not already a lover I would be signing up for the next Cordon Bleu Class booking a plane ticket and flying to France. Her story makes me envious that I was born at the very end of 1969 and not much earlier and to experience Paris right after the war.

Her description of sole meuniere made me crave it that I began planning my next restaurant outing as a way to un-wind. Her determination to make a perfect mayonaise made me smile and relief to know that I am not alone in becoming obsessed in creating the perfect recipe.

If you love a good read (or listen) love food and you are a big fan of Julia Child this is the perfect book for you. It gives you insight into the woman who single handly changed how America's eat.

Bon Appetite!

So good, I was sad to reach the last page.
I LOVED this book. With my continuing growth and love of cooking, Julia Child has become positively one of my favorite people on Earth. I had no idea what I was getting into with this book when I picked it up. I knew I wanted to read this specifically because it was really coming straight from her and not some researcher. These pages brought to me the real Julia. I never knew all the details of her French living life with her husband Paul. I now know that she and Paul clearly had such an amazing friendship and special bond with each other. One thing I hoped to see in this book was a lot of food talk. I was thrilled that so much of it revolved around meals she prepared, down to the exact ingredients each time. Hearing about her friends, her parties, her writing, her political views, I feel like she is someone I would love to have known and been friends with. If you like Julia Child and appreciate all her quirks, this book will make you love her. Read it.