The Female Cooks Who Shaped French Cuisine

A New Generation of Chefs Is Melding the Domestic and Professional—And Moving Toward Equality in the Restaurant Kitchen

As I perch on a stool in her kitchen in Lyon, I think about what makes Sonia Ezgulian’s cooking so compelling. Ezgulian, who is also a journalist, is well known for her simple, beautifully arranged and colorful dishes. Her hands work quickly as she peels zucchini and chops herbs for her signature spiral tart, with efficiency and effortlessness in every movement. Sonia’s food is both classically French in its techniques—she has perfected standards such as pâté en croute and terrines—and utterly contemporary, employing spices and less-common ingredients from other cuisines. …

The Elite Parisian Family That Educated Antebellum Kentucky

The Mentelles Brought French Enlightenment Values to the New World

Sometimes in American history, immigrants deeply influence a place and its people not by fitting in, but by standing apart.

One such story involves a cultured Parisian family that found its …