M F K F I S H E R , J U L I A C H I L D , J A M E S B E A R D & T H E R E I N V E N T I O N O F A M E R I C A N T A S T E Provence, 1970 Weston Public Library, Non Fiction Book Group Discussion, April 8, 2021 The pleasures of the table -- that lovely old- fashioned phrase -- depict food as an art form, as a delightful part of civilized life. In spite of food fads, fitness programs, & health concens, we just never lose sight of a beautifully conceived meal. Julia Child T I M E F O R A P O L L have you been to France? was the food/bread unlike any you have had in the US? About the Author L U K E B A R R G R A N D N E P H E W O F M F K F I S H E R F O R M E R E D I T O R O F T R A V E L & L E I S U R E A L S O W R O T E R I T Z & E S C O F F I E R H A R V A R D G R A D “It was the question of France that loomed largest, and meant the most, for all of them. The very idea of The set-up transcendent cooking, of cooking as an art form, the rituals of haute cuisine ... -- that was all French, and always had been. But a seismic shift was in the offing. And there was no better place to see it coming, to feel the sudden, moving fault lines, than in the steep, rocky hills of Provence in late 1970. p. 19 MFK FISHER 1908-1992 prolific writer “Like most humans, I am hungry...our three basic needs, for food and security and love, are so mixed and mingled and entwined that we cannot straightly think of one without the others. So it happens that when I write of hunger, I am really writing about love and the hunger for it...” JULIA CHILD 1912-2004 teacher, writer TV personality “I believe in red meat. I've often said: red meat and gin.” JAMES BEARD 1903-1985 chef, cookbook author, teacher, first tv chef personality “Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts.” RICHARD OLNEY 1927-1999 cook, food writer, painter, memorist “Stews form the philosophical cornerstone of French family cooking: they embody – or spark – something akin to an ancestral or racial memory of farmhouse kitchens – of rustic tables laid by mothers, grandmothers or old retainers." Mastering the Art of French Cooking Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, Simone Beck James Beard's American Cookery THE James Beard The French Menu Cookbook Richard Olney cookbooks The Art of Eating MFK Fisher Simca's Cuisine Simone Beck The other players Craig Claiborne Simone "Simca" Beck Sybille Bedford American restaurant critic, NYT food French cookbook author and cooking writer of non-fiction and semi- journalist and book author teacher autobiographical fiction books Eda Lord Judith Jones Raymond Gatti American writer and longtime American writer and editor Plascassier-based chauffeur companion of writer Sybille Bedford REFLECTIONS What does Barr succeed in conveying in this book? What does he not deliver? 07 13 “It wasn't just Mme. Gatti's lemon tart or Pathe's now- The wrap-up vanished diet clinic -- the past is a seemingly always elusive thing. When I peered at Paul Child's photographs or read my great-aunt MF's diaries, the truth was somewhere between the lines, or just out of camera range. p. 275 05 France is a Feast: the photographic journey of Paul and Julia Child. by Alex Prud'homme & 01 Katie Pratt. Goregous photography by Paul Child Related book and substantive The United States of Arugula: how we became a gourmet nation. By David Kamp. How gourmet eating in America went from obscure to 02 pervasive, thanks largely to James Beard, Julia suggestions Child, and Craig Claiborne. A Year in Provence (and related titles) by Peter 03 Mayle Other Resources James Beard: The First Foodie, American Masters https://find.minlib.net/iii/encore/record/C__Rb3634048__Sjames%20beard__P0%2C2_ _Orightresult__U__X6?lang=eng&suite=cobalt Classic Episodes of The French Chef https://www.pbs.org/food/shows/the-french-chef/ Soothing French Cafe Music https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEDTCRCiiL0 20 women, some you may not know, who influenced how you cook https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/03/16/lifestyle/20-women-some-you-may-not- know-who-influenced-how-you-cook/ Research & Museum resources Schlesinger Library, Historic Cook Book collection https://guides.library.harvard.edu/schlesinger/historic_cookbooks Schlesinger Library Julia Child collection: papers, photos, research guide https://guides.library.harvard.edu/schlesinger_julia_child Smithsonian National Museum of American History https://americanhistory.si.edu/food/julia-childs-kitchen.