By Rhonda K. Findley

Monique Wells and Julia Child are two of a kind. How so, you might ask with a chuckle. After all, Julia Child is a legend. She taught Americans how to cook French food. She began television cooking and celebrity chefs. Julia Child is a pioneer. And, Monique Wells . . .

Let’s just say Ms. Wells is creating quite a stir in the culinary world with the publishing of Food for the Soul (Elton Wolfe Publishing), originally published as La Cuisine Noire Americaine (The Cuisine of Black Americans) by Editions Minerva in October 1999. She is teaching the French how to cook American food. Much in the same spirit as Ms. Child back in 1961.

In 1961, Child along with partners Simone Beck and Lisette Bertholle published The Art of French Cooking and sent millions of American housewives into a cooking frenzy. Child et al showed America how to cook classic French dishes with simplified explanations, Escoffier techniques and American ingredients. French made easy (or at least easier). And, cooking became exciting, new and fun for America.

Some thirty years later, Wells’ book has the French scrambling for collard greens, barbecue and okra. Wells’ book outlines her family history as it relates to the recipes. She educates, documents and informs, interweaving her genealogy (passed down from her mother’s research) dating back to the 18th century, and a union between a Frenchman and a “Creole” on the island of Martinique, and even further back to the Bordeaux region. American food becomes fun and interesting. It has a past and a reason for being.

Wells is reveling in a wild response from the French as she works to promote the English translation. She’s a veterinary pathologist and career woman. My comparison to Child is not hype to merely get your attention. There is more.

Wells began gathering recipes six years ago to satiate her longing for what seemed simple tastes, but tastes unattainable in Paris. She was supported by friends and in particular by a group called SISTERS, an association of African-American women in France. Christiann Anderson, a member of SISTERS and accomplished graphics artist, collaborated with Wells on the beautiful illustrations.

Child joined forces with friends from her cooking group to research and test the recipes, painstakingly perfecting the recipes over several years. And Child was also a career woman and expatriate.

Famed French chef Alain Ducasse, the only chef to hold six Michelin stars, describes Food for the Soul as “not simply a book founded on the traditions of a region rich in history, but also a lesson in culinary art that Ms. Wells presents for France to discover.”

Ah hah . . . Great minds think alike. I rest my case.

Visit www.parisfoodforthesoul.com where you’ll find a recipe for Ms. Grace’s Chicken and Onions as well as the author’s favorite fried okra. Information available on ordering autographed copies of “Food for the Soul.”

Filed Under: Food Talk