Upcoming Julia Child Book Reveals Her Most Important Influences
If you like cooking even a little bit, chances are you've heard of Julia Child, the iconic chef and television host who pretty much single handedly introduced American home cooks to French cuisine (via NPR). Born in California, Child moved to Paris with her husband Paul after World War II, where she enrolled in the city's premier cooking school Le Cordon Bleu (via Britannica). Child graduated with a deep knowledge of classic French cuisine — and the desire to share this knowledge with Americans.
Child went on to pen the now-classic tome "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," which broke down the basics of French recipes into steps that were approachable for the average home cook — and the rest, as they say, is history. Child continued on to host a slew of PBS cooking shows that were renowned not only for utility but also for their approachability shares PBS, and is remembered today as one of food's most important icons.
Child's life and career have been memorialized in many a book and film, from Laura Shapiro's "Julia Child: A Life" to the well liked 2009 movie "Julie & Julia" (itself based on a book of the same name, which was based on a blog). And later this year, a new book about the French cooking doyenne is hitting bookstores — if you're a Child fan, you're going to want to check it out.
The new book examines Julia Child's co-creators
You know the expression "Teamwork makes the dream work?" Well, that's almost always the case for any successful person, who might become famous for their "individual" accomplishments, but is usually backed by a team of trusted confidants and co-collaborators. It was definitely true for French cooking legend Julia Child, who authored her iconic "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" with Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle (via Gastronomica). And a forthcoming book from Pegasus Books explores that very concept, diving deep into Child's relationships with the six people who helped shape her career.
"Warming Up Julia Child: The Remarkable Figures Who Shaped a Legend" will hit bookstores in April 2022, and in it, author Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz looks at Child's "dream team": Her husband, Paul; her co-author, Simone Beck; her friend, Avis DeVoto; Judith Jones and William Koshland, who both worked with Child at Knopf publishing "Mastering the Art of French Cooking;" and Ruth Lockwood, Child's producer at PBS. The new book "is about friendship and collaboration, examining Julia and her relationships with those who assisted and enabled her work and, ultimately, her enduring fame," a press release from Pegasus Books reads.
In order to plumb the depths of these pivotal relationships, the press release notes, the book includes excerpts from letters sent between Child and members of her circle. "Warming Up Julia" is described by the publisher as "essential reading for anyone who adores Julia and her legacy."