Just Try It
Chef Alice Waters
Who is she and what’s her background?
Born on April 28 of 1944 in Chatham, New Jersey Alice Waters is a passionate food activist and chef. She actually had no formal culinary training, but rather learned through traveling abroad to France and directly from farmers. Her education was at UC Berkeley, where she studied French culture which later taught her about farm to table dining. Alice opened her restaurant Chez Panisse in 1971, but struggled to stay in business because of the hefty cost of buying local and sustainable foods. But with the help of her friends financially and through her parents’ advice, she made connections with farms and hired a business manager.
“Food touches every one of our senses, which are the pathways to our minds”
What Alice asks while shopping:
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Where did it come from? How far away?
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Are the animals certified organic and completely grass fed?
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Are the eggs certified organic from pastured hens?
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Is the fish sustainably caught?
These are some tough but real realities that are beneficial for all of us to ask ourselves.
What does she stand for and What Makes Her Unique?
Alice advocates for cooking with whole and unprocessed good ingredients. She even builds relationships with local food providers at farmers markets. This is how she learns about picking the best produce, when to eat them and their shelf lives. She chooses to buy food that looks “alive” and vibrant and plans her menus and dishes accordingly. This sets her apart from other chefs as she only cooks meals with produce that is in season and therefore is less dependent and restricted by specific recipes. Alice's philosophy is to use all of her senses when cooking, (even hearing) and she tastes and learns about her food directly from the sources! Another thing that sets Alice apart from other chefs is her unwillingness to sacrifice her values. She says that she wants her staff to feel as though they’ve contributed to the meals they make and she wants them to be passionate about what they’re cooking. She also provides them with flexible work schedules.
Waters is well known for her restaurant Chez Panisse and her various food advocacy programs. In the past she has bought produce from and provided opportunities for jail inmates and former inmates. This is where she was originally inspired to create her Edible School Garden Project, when she discovered how transformative food could be. Through her Edible School Garden Project, she has promoted for the provision of free school lunches for all children and for sustainable food curriculum education in public schools for over 20 years. This emphasizes her desire for using food as a shared language and to create something “greater than the sum of the parts” through this community. Alice has also been the Vice President of Slow Food International for eighteen years and has written 15+ books, including “The Art of Simple Food” and “Coming to My Senses: The Making of a Counterculture Cook”. The joy that she endorses for in responsible cooking and her passion for real food has helped her gain the National Humanities Medal in 2015, a place in the National Women’s hall of fame, a fellowship at the American Academy of Arts and Science and almost 190k Instagram followers. Check out some of her recipes including her infamous sweet galette shown on the right!
What has she accomplished and what inspires her?
My Takeaways
I think I've always found recipes a little bit restricting because I enjoy making my own adaptations to them (and sometimes I have to due to my dietary needs). So when I heard about her approach to not only cook with what you have but to buy what looks "alive" and is in season really changed my perspective. I think I often go to the grocery store with a list already in my mind, so next time I will try to go to smaller or local markets and look for what fruits and vegetables are in season.
Trying Her Recipe: The Potato Gratin
The final product!
step 1: I peeled the potatoes and cut them into 1/4 inch slices
step 2: I oiled the pan and rubbed garlic onto it then placed the slices into it by rows
step 3: I continued to layer and season the potatoes, then I added vegetable stock and soy milk
step 4: I baked it then separated the sauce and added cornstarch to thicken it. I added cheese on one side for my family and nutritional yeast on the other
Bon Appetite! I tried to change as few ingredients as possible, but since I can't eat heavy cream I had to use soy milk and cornstarch instead. I probably added too many liquids but other than that it was pretty good. I would use hot chili powder and paprika to also season it to my own taste next time, since I only really tasted the thyme. Also i think the cheese is what really made the dish taste better, so I will try to find daiya cheese when I make it again. All in all, I was happy with it! Here is the link to the recipe.