Simone Beck

Simone (“Simca”) Beck was a French cookbook author and cooking teacher who, along with colleagues Julia Child and Louisette Bertholle, played a significant role in introducing French cooking to Americans. Best known as a partner in the creation of the two classic volumes of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, she was born in 1904 at Tocqueville en Caux, Normandy. After her first marriage ended in 1933, she began to study at the Cordon Bleu. A few years later, Beck, along with Julia Child and Louisette Bertholle, formed l'École des trois gourmandes to give lessons in French cooking to American women living in Paris. The school continued, on and off, into the late 1970s, and Beck and Child would continue to wear the school's badge on TV and in publicity photos for years to follow. While Child became a successful television chef and author in the United States, Beck continued teaching at home. In 1972 she published her own cookbook, Simca's Cuisine (with Patricia Simon), and a second volume, New Menus from Simca's Cuisine (with Michael James), followed in 1979. Food and Friends: Recipes and Memories from Simca's Cuisine (with Suzy Patterson), a joint memoir-cookbook, was published in 1991.

Simone Beck was portrayed by American actress Linda Emond in the 2009 film Julie and Julia.