Reader,

I don't share a ton of details about my life in France here, but this one was too special not to tell you about.

Last Friday I found myself in a 700 year-old dining room in Rouen, staring at a steaming platter of sole meunière.

It was exactly what Julia Child ate in the same spot in 1948.

Julia is everywhere at La Couronne. And for someone like me, who loves France, its food, and the story of how Julia Child fell in love with both, the magic of the experience is hard to overstate.

For this week’s newsletter I teamed up with my friends at TripMatters. Their team is hosting a trip to France in the fall that will give visitors the full Julia Child experience, from lunch at La Couronne, to a cooking class at Le Cordon Bleu, to shopping at Julia’s favorite cooking store in Paris - E. Dehillerin, and so much more. Want to see the full trip itinerary? Click the button below.

The Sole Meunière

If you haven’t read Julia Child’s memoir, My Life in France, all you need to know is this. Julia arrived in France with her husband Paul in 1948 after crossing the Atlantic by ship.

They pulled up in Normandy and on the drive from Le Havre to Paris, they stopped in Rouen for lunch at La Couronne.

They ordered sole meunière. It was lightly browned in butter, sprinkled with parsley, and served with a simple sauce.

She later described it as “the most exciting meal of [her] life.” That lunch set her on the path that would lead to attending classes at Le Cordon Bleu, writing Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and decades of teaching Americans about French cuisine.

I ordered the exact meal she had so many years ago.

And before lunch was over, I was chatting with the two French couples at the neighboring table about whether I should have the soufflé with Grand Marnier or with Calvados (the apple brandy comes from Normandy), and joking with another couple about the complexities of the cheese selection.

The experience was delicious, in more ways than one.

Would you like to eat at La Couronne?

What about taking a cooking class at Le Cordon Bleu? Or do some shopping at Julia’s favorite cooking store in Paris - E. Dehillerin (which is worthy of an entire email on its own)?

I teamed up with the U.S.-based team at TripMatters to feature a trip this fall that will allow guests to experience all of this and more. The trip includes fantastic meals, guided visits throughout Paris, Rouen, and a stop at Claude Monet’s Giverny to see the gardens that inspired so many of his paintings.

The trip will be guided by Patti Carter who has over 40 years of experience in planning, creating, and escorting visitors on trips in France and around the world.

This is exactly the kind of trip that allows you to experience the sense of community and comradery that makes the beauty (and food !) of France come alive.

Find the full trip itinerary at the link below. TripMatters is even offering my readers a discount you can find on the page linked below!

❤️Jess

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