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Happy 40th Birthday Chez Panisse!
Still changing the way Americans experience food.
user ratingFamed restaurant Chez Panisse turned 40 this year, and its iconic founder, Alice Waters—chef, restaurateur, activist and author—has not wavered from her mission to promote fresh, organic, sustainable, local food. She opened her restaurant in 1971 in a Craftsman-style house in North Berkeley, Calif., and focused on using fresh ingredients from nearby farms. In doing so, she changed the way Americans experience food—and is still doing so today.
Consistently ranked among the world’s 50 best restaurants, and named the Best Restaurant in America by Gourmet magazine in 2001, Chez Panisse has set a standard of excellence and Waters paved the way by being the first woman awarded Best Chef in America by the James Beard Foundation in 1992. In between, she wrote 10 cookbooks that let fresh ingredients shine and became a mentor to many famous chefs, such as Dan Barber of the Blue Hill restaurants in New York, Jeremiah Tower, founder of the former Stars restaurant in San Francisco, and Suzanne Goin of Lucques restaurant in Los Angeles. And if that wasn’t enough, she has been at the forefront of a nationwide movement to reform America’s food system.
Today, she focuses on the Edible Schoolyard National, formerly known as the Chez Panisse Foundation, which strives to instill in children the same love and respect for food that Chez Panisse exudes. A University of California, Berkeley study released in 2010 showed that students who come through the Edible Schoolyard not only feel differently about food than their peers, they eat better, too.
To honor her influence on the way Americans eat, her portrait was installed in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery as part of the anniversary celebration.
—Denise Shoukas
Explore Alice Waters’ culinary vision. Check out her cookbooks and dive into the Edible Schoolyard’s website to learn more.
Founded in 2004, the Chez Panisse Foundation got its start helping renovate the cafeteria food at Martin Luther King Middle School in Berkeley, Calif. Because of its success, today all the schools in the Berkeley district serve fresh, seasonal and made-from-scratch meals. Recently renamed Edible Schoolyard National, the organization’s mission is to create and sustain an organic garden and landscape that is completely integrated into the school’s curriculum, culture and food program. Students are involved in every aspect of farming the garden, including preparing, serving and eating the food. Ultimately they learn to eat healthier by understanding the connection between their food choices and their health and enjoyment.
Learn from any of Waters’ award-winning cookbooks:
The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution
Chez Panisse Vegetables
In the Green Kitchen: Techniques to Learn by Heart
Chez Panisse Café Cookbook
Edible Schoolyard: A Universal Idea
Chez Panisse Desserts
Chez Panisse Menu Cookbook
Fanny at Chez Panisse: A Child's Restaurant Adventures with 46 Recipes
Chez Panisse Fruit
Chez Panisse Pasta, Pizza & Calzone
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