Le Cercle des Gourmettes was an exclusive club or "circle" of women in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

devoted to gourmet food. The circle was started in 1929 by an American, Paulette Edlinger, and the name may have been a

bon mot Many words in the English vocabulary are of French origin, most coming from the Anglo-Norman spoken by the upper classes in England for several hundred years after the Norman Conquest, before the language settled into what became Modern Engli ...

in protest of the non-feminine form of the word ''gourmet''. The club began at a time of economic prosperity just prior to the

Great Depression in France The Great Depression in France started in about 1931 and lasted through the remainder of the decade. The crisis started in France a bit later than other countries. The 1920s economy had grown at the very strong rate of 4.43% per year, the 1930 ...

. It was started by the wives of members of

Club des Cent The Club des Cent ("Club of One Hundred") brings together distinguished gastronomes such as Curnonsky, Henri Gault, Christian Millau and Doyon. This club is also known as the Compagnons de Cocagne. As its name indicates, the Club has exactly one ...

and convened on alternate Fridays to enjoy lunches and dinners at the electric company headquarters in Paris, Electricité et Gaz. The club's most famous members were

Julia Child Julia Carolyn Child (née McWilliams; August 15, 1912 – August 13, 2004) was an American cooking teacher, author, and television personality. She is recognized for bringing French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, '' ...

Simone Beck Simone "Simca" Beck (7 July 1904 – 20 December 1991) was a French cookbook writer and cooking teacher who, along with colleagues Julia Child and Louisette Bertholle, played a significant role in the introduction of French cooking technique a ...

, and

Louisette Bertholle Louisette Bertholle (26 October 1905 – 26 November 1999) was a French cooking teacher and writer, best known as one of the three authors (with Julia Child and Simone Beck) of the bestselling cookbook ''Mastering the Art of French Cooking''. H ...

. Each joined the club in the late 1940s. Versions of the club later existed in Canada and Switzerland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cercle des Gourmettes, Le Clubs and societies in France Gastronomical societies Dining clubs