Alice L. Waters

Fanny At Chez Panisse by Alice Waters.

This beautiful and whimsical cover caught my eye yesterday. It took maybe an hour for me to read.

Told from Fanny’s perspective it’s a gentle depiction of the joys of fine dining.

I liked reading this- it reminded me of when I was a pastry chef and we’d cluster around an exciting fresh or new ingredient. Or when I’d experiment with different flavors. I made delicious lavender and lemon gelato. I’d make us milkshakes at the end of a long day and the cool lemon was so nice and the lavender so delicate.

As far as content considerations there is mention of Fanny getting a pinch (maybe on the bottom I don’t recall) and not liking it. There are also a couple mentions of organic food being better and one of Alice Waters currently working with food justice. Still extremely low on politics and I’m only mentioning it to be thorough.

The illustrations are fantastic and it’s really quite lovely as a peek into life as the child of a restaurateur. I might pair this with Night Of The Moonjellies.

There is also a section of simple recipes. If you do not know, Alice Waters is all about freshness and seasonality so that is an important thing to consider when cooking these.… (more)

I first heard of Alice Waters through the series Salt Fat Acid Heat where Samin Nosrat talked about Chez Panisse and then visited her to make pasta. So it is fascinating to read this book, to go from the people's (often admiring) perspectives of Waters' ambition and skills, to her own retelling of her almost lackadaisical and languorous path to the Waters and Chez Panisse so revered now.

Notable things to me:
1. Waters is hilariously boy-crazy! Falling in love left, right, and centre wherever she goes. I would almost argue that she's similarly girl-crazy the way she introduces her female friends, very focused on their physical attributes!
2. Waters surrounded herself with a good group of like-minded people who inspired her to learn. She managed to incorporate so many aspects of her friendships (or friends' skills) into her passion restaurant, by being so involved in the culture, or counterculture. That even if she hadn't opened an restaurant, her life would have just been as full and so fulfilling in its own right, without this universal public stamp of approval for Chez Panisse.
3. How absolutely lucky Waters was, but also her absolute openness to these opportunities. I can imagine simultaneously how fun yet also frustrating it would be for me to have a friend or close relative like Waters. However, as a reader, fabulous to read of such a charmed life.

As Waters' mother told her, she has lived a life so many have dreamed of. It's such a product of a specific time and place, I truly cannot foresee a similar life trajectory for anyone who can make such a cultural impact.… (more)