Lunch with Judith Jones at the Best Restaurant in Manhattan

I asked my producer to record tape from the moment we walked into Judith Jones's apartment. Hardly any of those first seconds are intelligible, if that gives you any indication of how I felt.

Wide-eyed and dry-mouthed, I hugged her, petted her dog, Mabon, and looked—slyly—for that iconic pegboard wall, the one she modeled after Julia Child's.

Then we sat down to record today's episode of Burnt Toast.

We've split our conversation in two: Today we'll hear about her work editing cookbooks and their authors. (Think: Marcella Hazan and Marion Cunningham.) Our next episode will focus more on her life and larger theories on home cooking.

There's plenty in today's episode about Julia Child, too, whose iconic book Mastering the Art of French Cooking Judith edited, championing after it had already been rejected by another publisher. And there's an impression or two, by Judith, who says she never tires of speaking of Julia. In her words, she likes to keep her alive.

Hear more of her words right this way:

Play the episode above, find it on iTunes, or listen to it using your favorite podcatcher. (Don't have one yet? We're fans of Stitcher.)