Background
Beck, Simone Simca was born on July 7, 1904 in Bain Freville, Normandy, France.
Beck, Simone Simca was born on July 7, 1904 in Bain Freville, Normandy, France.
Graduate, La Varenne School, Paris.
As a young girl, she enjoyed helping the family cook, occasionally preparing desserts or even entire meals. After an unsuccessful attempt at writing a full-length cookbook, Beck and Bertholle published the brief What"s Cooking in France? in 1952. This was followed by the booklet Le pruneau devant le fourneau: Recettes de cuisine (ca 1952), Beck"s only publication in French (for a copy, see Avis DeVoto Papers, A-167, #36).
After Beck met Julia Child in 1949, the idea of writing a French cookbook for Americans was rekindled.
Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume II (without Louisette Bertholle) followed in 1970, elaborating on several subjects (particularly baking and charcuterie) that the authors felt had received insufficient coverage in the first volume.
Within a few years of meeting, the three women formed l"École des trois gourmandes to give lessons in French cooking to American women living in Paris. While Child became a successful television chef in the United States, Beck continued teaching at home.
Some of her students were already successful chefs.
Others became well-known chefs. In 1972 she published her own cookbook, Simca"s Cuisine (with Patricia Simon), using, among others, some of the recipes that had not been included in her previous books with Child and Bertholle. She published the second volume, New Menus from Simca"s Cuisine, in 1979 with Michael James, her student, friend, and assistant since 1970.
She is played by American actress Linda Emond in the 2009 film Julie & Julia.
As her experience and responsibilities as a member of the club increased, Beck found herself increasingly involved in the culinary world.