When I was exploring northern California, I realized I had come to the starting point of the North American slow food movement.
Local, sustainable, seasonal – those buzzwords were intrinsic to this part of the west coast, which I found to be a progressive place for celebrating these trends in cuisine. As I dined at restaurants and met chefs and local farmers, I realized many of these foodies paid homage to Alice Waters, the chef of Chez Panisse.
In my former life working in book publishing, she was a name on the cover of a book, a quirky Californian who was focused on using locally-grown ingredients at her restaurant in Berkeley. Her name was discussed over the marketing table as a ‘west coast chef’, with the east coast team not quite understanding what she was doing.
With Chez Panisse celebrating its 40th birthday this year, Chef Alice Waters is recognized for her early adoption in wanting to develop a local food scene, inspired by the traditions of Europe and Mexico, and firmly entrenched in the local creativity of California.
On a hot day in late July, I was welcomed into Chez Panisse for dinner, situated in the centre of Berkeley, easily identified by a simple sign on a Mission-style building.
I was seated upstairs – wood banquettes lined the walls and the upstairs was filled with diners, chatting and enjoying the ambience of food and friends. I chose upstairs over downstairs, as me and my friends wanted to choose several menu items to share – downstairs is a set four course menu, changing daily based on the chef and her team’s inspirations.
The menu was a tribute to the locally-sourced items (with many menu descriptions referencing the sources) and was a list of what one would see that day at the local farmer’s market. The only exception was seafood from the Gulf of Mexico, chosen by Chef Waters in support of Louisiana fisherman, many facing hardships since the BP oil spill.
Dishes that made up the feast I had at Chez Panisse included zucchini cucumber and chili salad, grilled anchovies & olives, shrimp with remoulade sauce, Meyer lemon tart with raspberries and burnt caramel ice cream.
I was happy to whet my whistle with plenty of iced green tea and a glass of California rose – as well as filtered water, another restaurant trend I’m glad to see spread far and wide. But alas my one regret – my photos. I had the wrong setting on my camera, so my images of the meal are all blurry.
As I descended after dinner, I peeked into the main floor dining room, which was intimate and sultry, quieter than above. The open kitchen sits in the middle of the room, and I noticed the Chef, and realized it was Alice Waters herself, calmly directing her chefs as steam and scents rolled out of the kitchen.
Unlike the images now seen on tv about restaurant kitchens, Chez Panisse was a laid-back ambience, a tribute to the staff as well as the ethos of this restaurant – its all about the ingredients.
I felt privileged to have eaten so well from someone who has reminded us all why eating seasonal, sustainable, fresh, local and simply is the best luxury money can buy.