Reviews - Riverside Public Library

Booklist Reviews

In this sequel to My Life in France (2006), Prud'homme deftly chronicles the years after Julia Child left France and settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts—focusing mainly on what he calls her second act, from the late 1960s through the late 1980s. Child's popularity in the U.S. exploded after the 1961 publication of Mastering the Art of French Cooking and propelled her into the culinary limelight. As Child's grandnephew, Prud'homme is able to provide an intimate portrait of Child's life by sharing photographs, excerpts of letters and daily journals, and personal memories. He dishes up the story of Child's life from the strain of the medical issues she and her husband experienced to the pressures and excitement of becoming a trendsetter in televised cooking shows and a household name—in a manner as engaging as Julia Child herself and as delicious as one of her recipes. Copyright 2016 Booklist Reviews.

BookPage Reviews

A superstar chef's second act

In The French Chef in America, Julia Child's great-nephew, journalist Alex Prud'homme, treats Child's "second act" like a carefully crafted menu. He pays exquisite attention to the details without ever losing sight of the overall experience.

The effervescent Child is alive and well in these pages, which include scenes from her hit TV show, "The French Chef," as well as an intimate look at her boundless relationship with her husband, Paul, and the often prickly partnership with her co-writer, Simone "Simca" Beck. The depth of Prud'homme's research is evident in the particulars: He never tells us about one of Child's escapades without taking us right to the scene. Learning about how frog legs are cooked, for instance, takes us into a tiny kitchen where Child relentlessly questions the chef even as the cameraman worries about melting his equipment in the intense heat.

Prud'homme follows Child from her roots in Escoffier's grand cuisine through the trying transition to Gault's nouvelle cuisine. The shift wasn't easy on Child, but she navigated the changing culinary scene with a combination of stubbornness and grace. We see the gleam in Child's eye, but also her need to stick her head into every pot to see exactly what was going on in there. Her nephew applies the same good humor and insistent analysis to his topic, serving us a nuanced dish we feel compelled to linger over.

This article was originally published in the October 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Kirkus Reviews

Prud'homme (Hydrofracking: What Everyone Needs to Know, 2013, etc.) explores the life of his great aunt, Julia Child (1912-2004), America's first celebrity chef and an enduring cultural icon.Co-author of her autobiography, My Life in France, the author demonstrates how Child, a cultural mediator between France and America in the first act of her career, combined authoritative knowledge with an uninhibited, TV-ready personality in activating the taste buds of a nation. He goes behind the scenes to chronicle the development of her many TV series, from the seminal The French Chef to Dinner at Julia's, as well as her influential, often groundbreaking cookbooks. The book centers in large part on the Childs' years in Cambridge, detailing her long association with WGBH, Boston's flagship public TV station, and a rather rocky relationship with PBS. Her husband, Paul, is credited as an equal partner in a creative joint venture, making manifest contributions as editor, mentor, photographer, confidant, and sommelier to her career while studiously avoiding the limelight. Along with a dollop of culinary arcana, Prud'homme folds some surprises into his soufflé, showing a woman of sometimes-contradictory culinary convictions: Child the passionate defender of French tradition who was a relentless agent of change in America and Child the (initial) adversary of nouvelle cuisine who eventually found classical French gastronomy too limiting. We also meet Child the driven, tireless worker, a pragmatist who put herself into the reader's or viewer's shoes; the committed teacher and steadfast friend; the kitchenware junkie; the incorruptible opponent of product plugs; the staunch defender of science who credulously championed flawed food studies; and the nonconformist with a traditionalist streak. The author also gives room to Child's frequent collaborator Simone "Simca" Beck, longtime editor/midwife Judith Jones, and chef Jacques Pépin. Like Child and her recipes, Prud'homme focuses on theme and variation, eschewing a straight chronology for an affectionate but journalistically scrupulous backstage account of Child's influential second act. Copyright Kirkus 2016 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.

Library Journal Reviews

Prud'homme, Julia Child's great-nephew and the coauthor of her autobiography, My Life in France, here focuses on Child as TV personality and reverently regarded cookbook author, showing how she shaped the way Americans eat while creating a whole new type of television food show.

Library Journal Reviews

The great-nephew of American chef Julia Child (1912–2004) and coauthor of her memoir, My Life in France, Prud'homme picks up with Child's life where her memoir left off, after the publication of her seminal 1961 work, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Looking to create the next chapter in her career, Child began her foray into TV, which led to a number of different shows over the years. Child also undertook a second volume of French Cooking with friend Simone Beck. The lengthy process strained their relationship and eventually ended their collaboration. Constantly branching out in new directions, Child wrote many cookbooks, partnered with several famous chefs, hosted a segment on Good Morning America, and wrote for McCall's magazine. Throughout her career, Child's husband, Paul, worked with her on all of her projects and played a tremendous role in her achievements. Prud'homme's use of letters, interviews, and in-depth research deftly captures Julia's passionate personality and the evolution of her career and place in popular culture. VERDICT This will be a welcome addition for Child fans. [See Prepub Alert, 4/25/16.]—Melissa Stoeger, Deerfield P.L., IL

PW Annex Reviews

In in this biography, legendary chef Child's great-nephew, author Prud'homme, delights with behind-the-scenes details of Child's later life in the U.S. after years in France. Through extensive conversations with many who worked with Child and those she's inspired, including Emeril Lagasse and Sara Moulton, Prud'homme explores her adopted country; her work in television; her management of publishing deadlines; and her collaborations with longtime friends, including Simone Beck, James Beard, and Jacques Pepin. With Prud'homme's gentle hand, readers see the truth of Child behind her playful persona. Prud'homme also sheds a light on Child's passion for women's rights and public television. She turned down countless offers from big companies who wanted her to sell their popular products; she was a purist in many ways. This is a warm, nuanced celebration of "Our Lady of the Ladle." (Oct.) Copyright 2016 Publisher Weekly Annex.