Perfect for home cooks, Julia fans, and anyone who simply loves to eat and drink—a delightful collection of the beloved chef and bestselling author’s words of wisdom on love, life, and, of course, food. "If you're afraid of butter, use cream." So decrees Julia Child, the legendary culinary authority and cookbook author who taught America how to cook—and how to eat. This delightful volume of quotations compiles some of Julia's most memorable lines on eating—"The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook"—on drinking, on life—"I think every woman should have a blowtorch"—on love, travel, France, and much more.

With her outsize personality, Julia Child is known around the world by her first name alone. But despite that familiarity, how much do we really know of the inner Julia? Now more than 200 letters exchanged between Julia and Avis DeVoto, her friend and unofficial literary agent memorably introduced in the hit movie Julie & Julia, open the window on Julia’s deepest thoughts and feelings. This riveting correspondence, in print for the first time, chronicles the blossoming of a unique and lifelong friendship between the two women and the turbulent process of Julia’s creation of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, one of the most influential cookbooks ever written. Frank, bawdy, funny, exuberant, and occasionally agonized, these letters show Julia, first as a new bride in Paris, then becoming increasingly worldly and adventuresome as she follows her diplomat husband in his postings to Nice, Germany, and Norway. With commentary by the noted food historian Joan Reardon, and covering topics as diverse as the lack of good wine in the United States, McCarthyism, and sexual mores, these astonishing letters show America on the verge of political, social, and gastronomic transformation.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Julia's story of her transformative years in France in her own words is "captivating ... her marvelously distinctive voice is present on every page.” (San Francisco Chronicle). Although she would later singlehandedly create a new approach to American cuisine with her cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking and her television show The French Chef, Julia Child was not always a master chef. Indeed, when she first arrived in France in 1948 with her husband, Paul, who was to work for the USIS, she spoke no French and knew nothing about the country itself. But as she dove into French culture, buying food at local markets and taking classes at the Cordon Bleu, her life changed forever with her newfound passion for cooking and teaching. Julia’s unforgettable story—struggles with the head of the Cordon Bleu, rejections from publishers to whom she sent her now-famous cookbook, a wonderful, nearly fifty-year long marriage that took the Childs across the globe—unfolds with the spirit so key to Julia’s success as a chef and a writer, brilliantly capturing one of America’s most endearing personalities.

One of the most beloved figures in 20th century American culture was Julia Child, television's bouyant "French Chef." With an irrepressible sense of humor and a passion for good food, Child ushered in the nation's culinary renaissance and became its chief

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The definitive cookbook on French cuisine for American readers: "What a cookbook should be: packed with sumptuous recipes, detailed instructions, and precise line drawings. Some of the instructions look daunting, but as Child herself says in the introduction, 'If you can read, you can cook.'" —Entertainment Weekly “I only wish that I had written it myself.” —James Beard Featuring 524 delicious recipes and over 100 instructive illustrations to guide readers every step of the way, Mastering the Art of French Cooking offers something for everyone, from seasoned experts to beginners who love good food and long to reproduce the savory delights of French cuisine. Julia Child, Simone Beck, and Louisette Bertholle break down the classic foods of France into a logical sequence of themes and variations rather than presenting an endless and diffuse catalogue of dishes—from historic Gallic masterpieces to the seemingly artless perfection of a dish of spring-green peas. Throughout, the focus is on key recipes that form the backbone of French cookery and lend themselves to an infinite number of elaborations—bound to increase anyone’s culinary repertoire. “Julia has slowly but surely altered our way of thinking about food. She has taken the fear out of the term ‘haute cuisine.’ She has increased gastronomic awareness a thousandfold by stressing the importance of good foundation and technique, and she has elevated our consciousness to the refined pleasures of dining." —Thomas Keller, The French Laundry

One of the first and most important—and most successful—cookbooks by America's beloved Julia Child. Using a very accessible approach to French cooking from an American point of view, here are recipes and techniques for the beginner as well as the more advanced cook, using easily available ingredients for everything from soups and appetizers to dessert. Black and white line art and photographs throughout.

Food Book of the Year at the 2019 André Simon Food and Drink Book Awards The Sunday Times Food Book of the Year 'A masterpiece' - Bee Wilson, The Sunday Times As featured on BBC Radio 4 The Food Programme 'Books of the Year 2018' 'This is an extraordinary piece of food writing, pitch perfect in every way. I couldn't love anyone who didn't love this book.' - Nigella Lawson Shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards - Eurospar Cookbook of the year 'Diana Henry's How to Eat a Peach is as elegant and sparkling as a bellini' - The Guardian 'Books of the Year' 'I adore Diana Henry's recipes - and this is a fantastic collection. They are simple, but also have a sense of occasion. The recipes come from all over the world and each menu has an evocative story to accompany it. Beautiful.' - The Times 'Best Books of the Year' '...her best yet...superb menus evoking place and occasion with consummate elegance' - Financial Times 'The recipes are superb but, above all, Diana writes like a dream' - Daily Mail 'Any book from Diana Henry is a joy and this canny collection of menus and stories is no exception' - delicious (As featured in delicious. magazine Top 10 Food Books of 2018) 'You can always rely on Diana Henry. Her prose is elegant and evocative, her recipes pure and delectably international. This is perhaps her best yet' - Tom Parker Bowles, The Mail on Sunday 'Essential Cookbooks Published This Year' 'No one quite captures a place, a moment, a taste and a memory like she does. If you've been there before, you're transported back but if you haven't not to worry, she takes you there with her' - The Independent 'Best Books of the Year' 'The stories associated with the meals are what draw you in' - The Herald 'The Year's Best Food Books' 'A life-enhancing book' - The London Evening Standard 'Best Cookbooks To Buy This Christmas' '...enchanting, evocative menus.' - iPaper 'One of my favourite food writers with a book of 25 themed menus that I can't wait to cook. This is top of my wish list!' - Good Housekeeping 'Favourite Reads to Gift' When Diana Henry was sixteen she started a menu notebook (an exercise book carefully covered in wrapping paper) in which she wrote up the meals she wanted to cook. She kept this book for years. Putting a menu together is still her favourite part of cooking. Menus aren't just groups of dishes that have to work on a practical level (meals that cooks can manage), they also have to work as a succession of flavours. But what is perhaps most special about them is the way they can create very different moods - menus can take you places, from an afternoon at the seaside in Brittany to a sultry evening eating mezze in Istanbul. They are a way of visiting places you've never seen, revisiting places you love and celebrating particular seasons. How to Eat a Peach contains many of Diana's favourite dishes in menus that will take you through the year and to different parts of the world.