OP: Simca's Cuisine

Alfred A. Knopf, 1972. Hardcover. Very Good Plus. First printing.

Simone “Simca” Beck (1904–1991) is perhaps best known as one of the French co-authors on Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking Volume I (1961) and Volume II (1970). No stranger to cookbook writing, Beck had published her first book, What’s Cooking in France?, in 1952, though to minimal fanfare. Publishers insisted that Americans were not interested in French cuisine. A decade later, however, that was clearly no longer the case.

Beck and Child met in 1949 and, along with fellow co-author, Louisette Bertholle, formed l’Ecole des Trois Gourmandes to give lessons in French cooking to American women in Paris. This enterprise laid the groundwork for the collaboration that would launch Julia Child’s career. 

Perhaps reinvigorated by Child’s success, Beck tried again to bring French cuisine to a mass audience straight from the source, publishing Simca’s Cuisine in 1972. 

The dishes—predominantly from Normandy, Alsace, and Provence—are not for total beginners but for those now ready to invest serious effort in embracing a French way of life. Take, for example, the menu for “an earthy dinner for high-spirited friends” in which you will enjoy scallops baked and served in their shells (or in ramekins, if you must), simply flavored with butter and shallots; follow this with a cassoulet of duck and sausages and a side of cold asparagus, dressed with a gribiche-like sauce; and end the meal with le Talleyrand—cherries in custard with flambéed meringue.

Each dish name is presented in both English and French, the French taking top billing, bien sûr, along with suggested wine pairings. Headnotes and conseils offer some context, technical advice, and insight into the life of the Frenchwoman who never quite made it out of Julia Child’s shadow, though you get the sense that Beck would rather just present the dishes without commentary, as they surely speak for themselves.

We are very pleased to offer a first printing of a book that we think deserved (and deserves) more attention. Our copy is in Very Good Plus condition, clean and unmarked. The jacket has a ¾” closed tear to the rear top edge and minor creasing to the front. A valuable addition to any serious French collection.