In her own words, it is a book about the things Julia loved most in her life: her husband, France (her "spiritual homeland"), and the "many pleasures of cooking and eating".

It is a collection of linked autobiographical stories, mostly focused on the years between 1948 and 1954, recounting in detail the culinary experiences Julia and her husband, Paul Child, enjoyed while living in Paris, Marseille, and Provence.

The book also contains an extremely detailed index cataloging every person, place, ingredient, recipe, topic and event discussed.

[7] Julia excitedly describes the sole meunière lunch she savored in Rouen the day of their arrival, and which sparked her obsession with French cuisine, her "epiphany".

[10] She makes:[11] The Childs learn that television is sweeping the States,[12] head to England for Christmas,[13] and Julia recounts her and Paul's family histories, and courtships, hardships and more.

[15] Julia is invited into the exclusive women's eating club The Gourmettes,[16] and takes a trip back home to the United States.

They form L'École des Trois Gourmandes, a cooking school focusing on French food and classical techniques.

[19] The three Gourmandes meet celebrated gastronome Curnonsky,[20] and Simca and Louisette ask Julia to help them finish a cookbook of French recipes for an American audience.

[30] Houghton Mifflin finds their manuscript too lengthy, and they agree to prune the book, making the recipes simpler, shorter, and with an emphasis on how to prepare ahead and reheat.

[39] Julia finds working at La Pitchoune extremely productive,[40] and she explores the mystery of baking French bread in the home kitchen.

Julia decides to close up La Peetch in 1992, after Paul suffers a series of strokes, and is no longer able to share the home with her.