Julia Child, a native of California and a Smith College graduate; Simone Beck, French-born and -educated; and Louisette Bertholle, half French and half American, educated in both countries, represented an even blending of the two backgrounds and were singularly equipped to write about French cooking for Americans. Mrs. Child studied at Parisamp;#8217;s famousCordon Bleu, and all three authors worked under various distinguished French chefs. In 1951 they started their own cooking school in Paris,Lamp;#8217;Ecole des Trois Gourmandes, at the same time that this book was taking shape. After that, Madame Beck published two cookbooks,Simcaamp;#8217;s Cuisinein 1972 andNew Menus from Simcaamp;#8217;s Cuisinein 1979, and she continued to teach cooking in France. Madame Bertholle also had several cookery books published. Shortly after the appearance ofMastering the Art of French Cookingin 1961, Julia Child began appearing in the public television seriesThe French Chef, which aired for many years all over the United States, and in 1978 the programJulia Child amp; Companywas launched, followed the next year byJulia Child amp; More Company. In 1968 recipes from her early programs, many of which were drawn from this book, were published inThe French Chef Cookbook. In 1975From Julia Childamp;#8217;s Kitchenwas published, followed in 1978 and 1979 byJulia Child amp; CompanyandJulia Child amp; More Company, based on those programs. Also based on television series were the two booksamp;#8212;Cooking with Master ChefsandIn Juliaamp;#8217;s Kitchen with Master Chefsamp;#8212;she wrote in the mid-1990s, as well asJulia and Jacques Cooking at Home, with Jacques Pamp;#233;pin, in 1999.The Way to Cook, her magnum opus, was published in 1989, and in 2000 she gave usJuliaamp;#8217;s Kitchen Wisdom, a distillation of her years of cooking experience.