What is this book? This fourth book? Well, it started out as a record of the 72 French Chef television shows in our color series  - our second series, which was a continuation of our 119 black and white programs. But, as I went along in a leisurely manner, I found that almost every recipe gave rise to variations and other ideas, or to tangents, comments, anecdotes, personal traits and discoveries, and the result is this rather large and rambling book  - a summation really of my 25 years in the kitchen... Julia Child

{HISTORY}

Oh Julia. How thorough and sincere and dedicated she was! The quote above is the opening paragraph to her fourth cookbook, From Julia Child's Kitchen, based off of her immensely popular television show, The French Chef, which aired from 1963 to 1973. 

In this cookbook, she delves into recipes beyond her traditional French repertoire including many international delights as well as favorites from her American homeland. In typical Julia fashion, she teaches home cooks the most approachable way to handle a an ingredient, a recipe, a dish so that they could recreate a successful meal confidently each time they embarked on a cooking adventure with her. Julia called this book "large and rambling" and indeed it is - 687 pages not including the index - but its full of interesting tidbits only Julia could honestly and authentically offer, courtesy of her decades of hands-on experience. 

Enhanced with photographs taken by Julia's husband, Paul, this book is gorgeously intimate and inviting. With her practical, authoritative voice, her charming side note stories, and her humorous expressions, it's a book about cooking but also it's a touching memoir of a woman's fun love affair with all things food.

Adding to the intimate nature of this book are the two signatures on the front endpaper... Julia's and Paul's... one on top of the other, signed in two distinct pens with their two distinct ways of writing. We were so happy to see that both had signed this cookbook because it really was a work of art between the two of them, and a wonderful example of their collaborative love affair. 

Although signed, this book was never treated as precious, which we think Julia would have loved most of all. It contains a few random cooking spots and stains, some wrinkled pages, some dog-eared corners. It also contains the original dust jacket which took the brunt of a previous task's cooking escapades but fully performed its task with aplomb, which is to keep the decorated coverboards clean and intact. There are some spots on the foredge, a bit of speckling on the top binding near the spine and smudgy cooking stains next to Julia and Paul's names. We aren't sure fewer things would have made these two more proud, than to see their book, fully at work in the kitchen. 

{SPECIAL FEATURES}

• 1978 Edition (hardback) published by Knopf, 4th printing
• Signed by both Julia and Paul
•  687 pages 
• There's a wonderful dedication to Ruth Lockwood at the beginning of the book which was actually written by Paul 
• Throughout, Julia offers advice on wine and food pairings, as well as an extensive glossary in the back which she calls a "Culinary Gazetteer," featuring not-to-miss advice and stories on a range of cooking topics
• Interesting recipes include her famous Boeuf Bourguignon, Mushroom and Olive Stuffing from Provence, Tomato Fondue, Ham Slices in Heavenly Sauce, Puree of White Beans with Garlic and Herbs, French Bread, Upside-Down Apple Tart, Strawberry Souffle, Walnut Wafers, Hard Boiled Eggs Stuffed with Pureed Asparagus, Eggplant and Cheese Quiche, Royal Custard, White Bean Soup with Herbs and Lemon and so many more! 

{CONDITION}

In well-loved vintage condition, this cookbook is primarily clean and bright throughout but there are some cooking spots and stains, dog-eared pages, and light wrinkling of some sections. Please see notes above.

The dust jacket is entirely in one piece but has been reinforced with archival paper in some area on the inside to secure chippy or fragile areas. The spine is tight and all pages are intact.  We've photographed all the condition issues, so please view all the photos. 

{SIZE}

Measures 9.5" inches (length) x 7" inches (width) x 1.75" inches (thickness) and weighs 3lbs.

{FOR THE LOVE OF JULIA}

Find more Julia Child cookbooks and culinary joie de vivre here.