Chez Panisse Celebrates Its 40th-Anniversary

It is so inspiring to celebrate women who make a difference.  This summer on August 28 the legendary restaurant Chez Panisse turns 40!  Alice Waters' landmark restaurant in Berkeley, California started many movements in the food industry which have become standard, such as the ongoing farmers' market movement,  California cuisine, and the local-seasonal-orgnanic food philosophy that most chefs have adopted.

Alice at the launch of Chez Panisse in 1971

photo from "Food and Wine"

In the early days Alice worked mostly as a waitress

photo from "Food and Wine"

She pioneered the edible schoolyard garden movement in 2006

photo from "Food and Wine"

Alice Waters once famously gave Bill Clinton a perfect peach as he exited a fundraiser.  "I was sure if I fed the president a perfect peach," Waters writes, "it would bring him to a new understanding of the politics of food."  Alice Waters has for 40 years given us the gift of nurturing our culinary abilities and helping us adopt a healthier life style. And along the way she has inspired many of the cooks amongst us to stretch ourselves and cook from what is seasonally fresh, rather than just from recipes which often call for what is not in season.

A new book is coming out this month on the history of the restaurant with recollections from the generations of Chez Panisse chefs, farmers, purveyors, and friends who have contributed to its success.

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We were lucky enough to eat at Chez Panisse this summer and I was thrilled that the restaurant was celebrating Bastille Day with a menu inspired by the recipes of Paula Wolfert.

  Here are some of the dishes we enjoyed:

Shaved zucchini salad with black olives, preserved lemon, and feta

Pizzetta with tomato sauce, squid, and hot pepper

House-made spaghetti all Norma

Grilled quail with fried squash blossoms

Becker Lane Farm pork cooked in milk with lemon, garlic, spinach, and peas

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This is what I bought at my farmer's market recently: 

 I made a tomato salad and turkey tacos with these beautiful heirloom tomatoes and organic avocados:

Heirloom Tomato Salad with Blue Cheese

Turkey Tacos

Because of Alice Waters many of us now buy organic produce at farmers' markets.  This month we can celebrate the woman who started it all!