Born in Gloucestershire, Grigson was raised in Sunderland, in North East England, before studying at Newnham College, Cambridge. In 1953 she became an editorial assistant at the publishing company Rainbird, McLean, where she was research assistant for the poet and writer Geoffrey Grigson. They soon began a relationship which lasted until his death in 1985; they had one daughter, Sophie. Jane worked as a translator of Italian works, and co-wrote books with her husband before writing "Charcuterie and French Pork Cookery" in 1967. The book was well received and, on its strength, Grigson gained her position at "The Observer" after a recommendation by the food writer Elizabeth David.