Penguin Random House, author portrait placeholder image

Simone Beck

Simone Beck was born in 1904 at Tocqueville en Caux, Normandy. In 1933, she began to study at the Cordon Bleu, then the world’s supreme school of cuisine. In 1948 she was approached by a friend, Louisette Bertholle (now Comtesse de Nalèche), to collaborate on a French cookbook for Americans. In 1951, at the suggestion of her husband, they began to search for an American to help them, and a friend introduced Simca to Julia Child, then studying cooking in Paris. Soon afterward, the three women formed a cooking school, L’École des Trois Gourmandes, and began the collaboration that produced the several volumes of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. She died in 1991.
Simca's Cuisine
Food and Friends
Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume I
Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 2

Books

Simca's Cuisine
Food and Friends
Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume I
Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 2

Three Penguin Random House Authors Win Pulitzer Prizes

On Monday, May 5, three Penguin Random House authors were honored with a Pulitzer Prize. Established in 1917, the Pulitzer Prizes are the most prestigious awards in American letters. To date, PRH has 143 Pulitzer Prize winners, including William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Josh Steinbeck, Ron Chernow, Anne Applebaum, Colson Whitehead, and many more. Take a look at our 2025 Pulitzer Prize

Read more

Books for LGBTQIA+ Pride Month

In June we celebrate Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual + (LGBTQIA+) Pride Month, which honors the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan. Pride Month is a time to both celebrate the accomplishments of those in the LGBTQ+ community and recognize the ongoing struggles faced by many across the world who wish to live

Read more