• The foreword by Graydon Carter, editor of Vanity Fair, will only serve to elevate the profile of the book, which features contributions from names like Eleanor Roosevelt, Vivien Leigh, and Pearl S. Buck.
• This charming vintage-looking book makes a great gift for Mother's Day and beyond! The original 1940s package will be replicated, with a gingham checked cloth case, cream paper, small trim size, and original jacket art and spot illustratons throughout.
• Thank You, Julie & Julia! The success of this Summer '09 film has reinvigorated public interest in French cooking, selling a ton of Julia Child's cookbook in just a few months.
• Books on French “style” and “food” sell. Look at the success of French Women Don’t Get Fat, which combines the topics.
• Readers also love the coziness of Provence, and author Peter Mayle has made a success out of his numerous best-selling books on the subject, including French Lessons: Adventures with Knife, Fork, and Cork Screw.

A certain widely-travelled New Yorker, a gourmet who sometimes prepares his own dishes, was recently asked his opinion of Spécialités de la Maison issued by the American Friends of France.

His reply: “I enjoyed it tremendously because it is a sort of travelogue of cuisine compounded by a number of gay and intelligent people who have made their mark in the world, and who evidently have a wholesome respect for the pleasures of the table. To me it is valuable for those dread moments when the stove looks cold and uncooperative, the muse of inspiration is mute, and the guests are determined to arrive at a quarter before eight.”

                                                                        --from Specialités de la Maison



First published in 1940, Spécialités de la Maison presents a diverse collection of recipes by Hollywood and Broadway celebrities, renowned socialites, noteworthy writers, royalty, famous couturiers, and restaurateurs. With a jacket by Clement Hurd, renowned illustrator of Goodnight Moon, illustrations by Alajalov and Jean Pages, both renowned for the work at Vogue and other stylish publications of the day, this charming facsimile edition is an enlightening and entertaining illustration of what the wealthy and famous cooked when eating en famille. The busy host or hostess will appreciate that the recipes are easy, short, no-fuss, and truly fun to make, not to mention tasty conversation starters that will appeal to cooks, Francophiles, and pop-culture fans.

With a new preface by editor Christine Schwartz Hartley and a foreword by Graydon Carter, Spécialités de la Maison offers options from cocktails and canapés to dessert. Among the many noteworthy contributors are: Elizabeth Arden, Mrs. Vincent Astor, Tallulah Bankhead, Cecil Beaton, Fannie Brice, Pearl S. Buck, Charlie Chaplin, Ilka Chase, Noel Coward, Salvador Dalí, Christian Dior, Lynne Fontanne, Mrs. Samuel Goldwyn, Helen Hayes, Mrs. William Randolph Hearst, Katharine Hepburn, Aldous Huxley, Helen Keller, Vivien Leigh, Claire Boothe Luce, Alfred Lunt, Curtis Moffat, Prince Serge Obolensky, Laurence Olivier, Mary Pickford, Lily Pons, Mrs. Cole Porter, Emily Post, Eleanor Roosevelt, Gogo Schiaparelli, Norma Shearer, Madame Igor Stravinsky,Virgil Thomson, Valentina, and Clifton Webb.