In the mythology of Julia Child, the sole meuniere is regarded as the dish that birthed a legend. “It was the most exciting meal of my life.” “Our first lunch in France had been absolute perfection,” Julia Child wrote in her memoir. ![]() Green salad and baguette followed, then fromage blanc (a French dairy product similar to yogurt that has no English-language equivalent) and coffee. La Couronne’s sole meuniere, per Julia Child, was “perfection”. Like a plain croissant or a roasted chicken, it leaves the cook no room to hide: their technique is on full display. After the oysters came their entrée, sole meuniere: a large Dover sole that arrived “perfectly browned in a sputtering butter sauce with a sprinkling of chopped parsley on top”. They drank Pouilly-Fumé, a dry white wine from the Loire Valley. ![]() The Childs enjoyed oysters on the half-shell with “a sensational briny flavor and a smooth texture that was entirely new and surprising”, paired with rye bread and butter. Paul, who spoke fluent French, took over ordering duties. (Julia would later describe the position in her memoir My Life in France as “a sort of cultural/propaganda job”, through which Paul would “help promote French-American relations through the visual arts”.) The two had just arrived in France after days on the SS America, an ocean liner. Her husband Paul, an American civil servant from New Jersey, was about to start a new job as an exhibits officer for the United States Information Agency, a now dissolved branch of the State Department. ![]() Julia, a native of California, worried she “didn’t look chic enough” for the venue. On 3 November 1948, Julia Child and her husband Paul sat down for lunch at La Couronne, a venerable restaurant opened in 1345 in the Normandy capital of Rouen.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |