My Life in France, by Julia Child, published posthumously, April 2006.

When Julia Child stepped off the boat in Le Havre, France in 1948, she was 36 years old, had never been to Europe, and didn’t know how to cook. Accompanying her husband Paul, Julia’s first French meal in Rouen was a revelation:

As we sat down, I heard two businessmen in gray suits at the next table asking questions of their waiter, an older, dignified man who gesticulated with a menu and answered them at length.
“What are they talking about?” I whispered to Paul.

“The waiter is telling them about the chicken they ordered,” he whispered back. “How it was raised, how it will be cooked, what side dishes they can have with it, and which wines would go with it best.”

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