I Know How to Cook by Ginette Mathiot - 2009

New York: Phaidon Press, 2009. First American Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine/near fine. As New in all respects. First printing: first published 2009, no others noted. "If Betty Crocker had been a real person—and had been born in France—her name would have been Ginette Mathiot. This no-nonsense encyclopedia of French home cuisine—"Je sais cuisiner," to use its original title—was the creation of Mathiot (1907-98) and has been the kitchen bible of ordinary French men and women since its debut 75 years ago. In the words of Mathiot, "a good cookbook must only offer useful information. It will avoid second-rate recipes or those that are too complicated for the way we live now."--Aram Bakshian Jr., reviewed in the Wall Street Journal, November 25, 2009. "Ginette Mathiot, Officier de la Légion d'Honneur, (23 May 1907 – 14 June 1998) was a French food writer and home economist. Mathiot wrote over 30 books including the famous Je Sais Cuisiner (I Know How to Cook) which sold over 6 million copies; she also wrote the famous Je Sais Faire la Pâtisserie (The Art of French Baking), which has been updated and published by Phaidon in 2011. She never married and used traditional cooking methods to design cookbooks which the young wife caring for a young family could read and understand with ease. She is well known in France and her recipes are still used today by some of the most celebrated chefs, and millions of copies of her recipe books have been sold. She pursued a long career in education, first as a home economics teacher, and later as the Inspectrice générale de l'enseignement ménager de la Ville de Paris then finally as the Inspector General overseeing the teaching of Home Economics in France. Every effort is made to ship all books and other items within 24 hours. Clean recycled packing material will be used when possible. The Book Shed has a been a member of the Vermont Antiquarian Bookseller's Association since 1997. An online bookseller with a bookshop sensibility!