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 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, '' ...

and

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 ...

) of the bestselling

cookbook A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (appetizer, first cour ...

Mastering the Art of French Cooking ''Mastering the Art of French Cooking'' is a two-volume French cookbook written by Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle, both from France, and Julia Child, who was from the United States. The book was written for the American market and published ...

''.

History

She was born Louisette Remion on 26 October 1905. Sometime after 1928, she married Paul Bertholle, a businessman. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Louisette Bertholle, who had the idea of writing a French cookbook for American cooks, met

via the ''

Le Cercle des Gourmettes Le Cercle des Gourmettes was an exclusive club or "circle" of women in Paris devoted to gourmet food. The circle was started in 1929 by an American, Paulette Edlinger, and the name may have been a bon mot in protest of the non-feminine form of t ...

'' culinary club and the two began to develop the concept further, collecting recipes and testing them. Their initial attempts at writing were unsuccessful, however their idea was rekindled in 1949 when they met

. In 1951, the three women founded their own cooking school, L'École des Trois Gourmandes (The School of the Three Food Lovers). It was created to give French cooking lessons to American women living in Paris where the three friends proudly wore aprons adorned with their school's logo. Years later, Child pinned the patch to her blouse during cooking demonstrations and her television series, ''

The French Chef ''The French Chef'' is an American television cooking show created and hosted by Julia Child, produced and broadcast by WGBH, the public television station in Boston, Massachusetts, from February 11, 1963 to January 14, 1973. It was one of t ...

''. Bertholle and Beck successfully published the short cookbook ''What's Cooking in France'' in 1952. By 1960 Bertholle's life had changed significantly: her marriage was failing, she was having financial difficulties and was already over 50. However, she was able to reinvent herself and restart her career via her participation with Child and Beck. The three women had initially signed a contract to publish ''Mastering the Art of French Cooking'' with

Houghton Mifflin The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

. The publishing company ultimately rejected the submitted manuscript, believing it was too much like an encyclopedia. When it was finally published in 1961 by

Alfred A. Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...

, the 734-page book was a best-seller and received critical acclaim. Bertholle later remarried, to the

Comte ''Comte'' is the French, Catalan and Occitan form of the word 'count' (Latin: ''comes''); ''comté'' is the Gallo-Romance form of the word 'county' (Latin: ''comitatus''). Comte or Comté may refer to: * A count in French, from Latin ''comes'' * A ...

Henry Bandit de Nalèche, becoming the Comtesse de Nalèche in the process. She published additional books in France, and wrote a daily recipe for

France-Soir ''France Soir'' ( en, France Evening) was a French newspaper that prospered in physical format during the 1950s and 1960s, reaching a circulation of 1.5 million in the 1950s. It declined rapidly under various owners and was relaunched as a popul ...

until age 84. She is played by American actress Helen Carey in the 2009 film ''

Julie & Julia ''Julie & Julia'' is a 2009 American biographical comedy-drama film written and directed by Nora Ephron starring Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci, and Chris Messina. The film contrasts the life of chef Julia Child in the early years of her ...

''.

Bibliography

* ''What's Cooking in France'' (1952, coauthor with Simone Beck) * ''

'' (1961, coauthor with Julia Child and Simone Beck) * ''Secrets of the Great French Restaurants'' (1974) * ''Une Grande Cuisine Pour Tous'' (1976) * ''French Cuisine For All'' (1980)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bertholle, Louisette Women cookbook writers French chefs 1905 births 1999 deaths 20th-century French women writers