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When Alice Waters and a small
band of friends in Berkeley founded a neighborhood bistro called
Chez Panisse in 1971, they attempted to create an experience similar
to a dinner party at home. This idea alone was a radical
departure from contemporary thoughts on fine dining. It was not
to be the only one.
Unlike the Palace Hotel's illustrious beginnings,
Chez Panisse began in a converted family home on Shattuck Avenue
in Berkeley near the University of California campus. The restaurant
turned the traditional principles of fine dining upside down. Instead
of showcasing the wizardry of the chefs, the kitchen focused on
ingredients, seasonal, local, and naturally raised – cooked
only to reveal their essence. While both Chez Panisse and the Palace
Hotel share a common origin in the grand cuisine of France, Waters
and her friends found inspiration in the rustic, regional styles
of cooking of the countryside. This commitment to simplified fine
cuisine reveals a more casual and relaxed attitude towards fine
dining. The emphasis on the simplicity of both the food and the
dining experience have come to define not only contemporary California
dining and cooking, but have greatly influenced the whole movement
of American gastronomy.
The menus at Chez Panisse illustrate an ambitious
exploration and experimentation in not only the food and its preparation,
but the manner in which it is described. The celebration of fresh,
vibrant ingredients carries over into the menus. Many are glorious
works of art, designed and illustrated by professional artists,
printers and calligraphers, visually vibrant and often witty. By
acknowledging the particular varieties of food on the menu and the
farm that produced it, the people who grow the food are celebrated
as much as the chefs who prepare it.
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