Written by Judith Jones. Jones writes about her years when she edited some of America’s most important cookbooks. Judith proved herself a master of both in her memoir The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food. The buds of these twin talents emerged her in 1948 Paris, In her summer holiday she became a three-year stay full of romantic charm ; shopping in open-air markets, securing a job in publishing, learning French, and marrying Evan Jones, her former boss.

Jones re-settled in New York where they strove to maintain their European palates despite the limited offerings of supermarkets and it was an opportunity Tfor her when many American recipes required a can opener but a change occurred in American kitchens.

Cookbooks began to appear on Jones’s editing desk at Knopf, including “a huge manuscript on French cooking” by three unknown women. One of those women turned out to be Julia Child and the manuscript became “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” Scores of other partnerships with cooks and chefs followed as Jones helped to establish Edna Lewis, Marion Cunningham, and James Beard, along with the other side names used.

Longstanding cookbooks with the European influenced experiences to a new clarity that she sought out cooks who knew how to add flavor to a dish using fresh ingredients.

She shares recipes and tips from her mentors and encourages all to improvise.