Culinary Chronicles

Chez Panisse Menu Cookbook: Return of Flavorful Food 
Chef, restaurateur, and organic food advocate, Alice Waters changed the way many Americans view food. In post-war America, most food produced was heavily industrialized and lacked flavor. It was against this norm that, while in France,Waters became inspired by the French appreciation for small farms and quality produce. Her Berkeley, California restaurant, Chez Panisse, opened in 1971, was rooted in the ideals of community, quality ingredients, and the intersection of food and politics. Eleven years after Chez Panisse opened, Waters published her first cookbook, Chez Panisse Menu Cookbook, in 1982. It is a collection of recipes from the restaurant. Alice Waters’ cookbook encapsulates the farm-to-table ethos, an idea adopted in many restaurants. The 1960s counterculture, the return of local and organic food, and Waters’ experience in France have led to the publication of the Chez Panisse Menu Cookbook. 
 
The 1960s Counterculture 
The cultural and political divide in the US in the 1960s were evident. The Free Speech Movement was a long-lasting student protest during the academic year of 1964-1965 at the University of California, Berkeley. When Waters was a student, she was inspired by the Civil Rights movement, and the Counter-culture’s opposition to the Vietnam war and the military-industrial complex, which encompassed large-scale food production Conversely, foods such as brown rice, legumes, organic vegetables, tofu, and sprouted grains represented a shift in attitude toward health and nutrition but also industrialized food represented systemic issues of racism and capitalism. The 1960s counterculture changed the food industry by rejecting industrially made processed foods. 
 
The Return of Local and Organic Food 
Processed and industrialized foods in post-war America were ubiquitous. America became flooded with unhealthy and “convenient" foods in supermarkets between the 1940s and the 1960s. The desire for 'healthy’ and ‘natural’ food was not just a rejection of industrialization but towards the health of the eater and the earth. Throughout decades, there have been major reform movements related to food and health but the natural foods movement in the 60s made organic foods stay popular through the 2000s. During the mid 1960s, many people would discover that the same companies who were producing Agent Orange were also producing pesticide and herbicide for farmers. The widespread use of these products made it practically impossible to acquire clean food in supermarkets. To avoid this, the counterculture joined the back-to-the-land movement, opened food co-ops, and searched for “health food” markets, some of which remain today: Whole Foods, Erewhon, and Westbrae. Alice Waters was part of this movement by working with local farmers who grew organic food. The Chez Panisse Menu Cookbook sources all their produce, seafood, poultry, and meat from small local farmers leaving the menus almost entirely organic. 
 
Alice Waters: Her Time in France 
Although Alice Waters always appreciated food during her childhood, it wasn’t until she visited the south of France during her college years attending the University of Berkeley that she realized a tomato in France tastes tremendously better than in the U.S. The French lettuce had color, texture, and flavor, while Americans were accustomed to iceberg lettuce. She found herself eating more goat cheese than American cheese, and goat cheese would become a staple ingredient served at her restaurant. Her trip to France completely changed her viewpoint on food. Waters discovered beautiful and boldly flavored food that would inspire the foundation and mission of Chez Panisse, only six years later. The cultural experience in France heavily inspired the aesthetic of Chez Panisse, both the ambiance and the recipes. In Chez Panisse Menu Cookbook, almost every recipe includes a vegetable or fruit, the majority of the desserts are centered on fresh, seasonal fruit. Each recipe is also a modern take on classic French dishes.  

Conclusion 
Alice Waters is often considered the pioneer of California cuisine, her dedication to small local farmers have helped the environment and her community within Chez Panisse. Her cookbook contains a beautiful collection of memories from the very beginning of her restaurant. Her search for quality food led to a long-lasting network focused on organic and local food. Her constant advocacy of sustainable agriculture, the Slow Food movement, and organic food has made her exceptionally important in the food and restaurant industry. 

For Further Research 
Waters, A. (2011). Chez Panisse Menu Cookbook. Random House. 
  Maria McGrath. Food for Dissent : Natural Foods and the Consumer Counterculture Since the 1960s. University of Massachusetts Press, 2019.  
Pesci, and Brinkley. “Can a Farm-to-Table Restaurant Bring About Change in the Food System?: A Case Study of Chez Panisse.” Food, Culture and Society, vol. 25, no. 5, 2022, pp. 997–1018.
 Shurtleff, William. History of the Natural and Organic Foods Movement (1942-2000) www.soyinfocenter.com/pdf/224/NaFo.pdf. 
 Valeria Siniscalchi. “Environment, Regulation and the Moral 
Economy of Food in the Slow Food Movement.” Journal of Political Ecology, vol. 1, 2013, pp. 295–305.