La Pitchoune is a small stucco house that Julia Child and her husband, Paul, built in the Provençal village of Plascassier in France in the early 1960s.
Following the deterioration of Paul's health and the death of long-time friend Simone Beck in December 1991, Julia relinquished the property in June 1992.
[1] She later recalled that La Pitchoune had lost its "raison d’être" without Paul or Simone and that she had no regrets giving up the property.
[2] In 1993, La Pitchoune became home to the culinary school 'Cooking with Friends in France' run by American Kathie Alex, where she offered 6-day courses for up to six people.
[5] Makenna Held, who, like Child, attended Smith College, purchased the house with investors and immediately opened it to the public for vacation rentals.