17] Michael Field, writing for the New York Review of Books, praised Beck, Bertholle, and Child for "not limiting themselves to la haute cuisine," and stated that "for once, the architectural structure of the French cuisine is firmly and precisely outlined in American terms."
Volume 1 of Mastering the Art of French Cooking received overwhelmingly positive reviews when it was first released in 1961. In the New York Times, Craig Claiborne wrote that the recipes in the book "are glorious, whether they are for a simple egg in aspic or for a fish souffle," and that it "is not a book for those with a superficial interest in food...but for those who take a fundamental delight in the pleasures of cuisine."[17] Michael Field, writing for the New York Review of Books, praised Beck, Bertholle, and Child for "not limiting themselves to la haute cuisine," and stated that "for once, the architectural structure of the French cuisine is firmly and precisely outlined in American terms." Field's sole criticism of the book was that the authors suggested dry vermouth as a substitute for white wine, as he felt the domestic vermouth available to American home cooks, the book's target audience, was "bland and characterless."[22] Despite being a relatively expensive cookbook, retailing for $10 in 1965 (about $90 today), Mastering the Art of French Cooking Volume 1 did well commercially, selling over 100,000 copies in less than five years.[22][5] According to Julia Child biographer Noel Riley Fitch, the publication of Mastering the Art of French Cooking instantaneously changed the entire American cookbook industry, leading more cookbook publishers to place emphasis on clarity and precision, and away from the "chatty and sometimes sketchy" style that had typified American cookbooks.[23]