Culinary revolution
Encyclopedia
The Culinary Revolution was a movement during the late 1960s and 1970s, growing out of the Free Speech Movement
, when sociopolitical issues began to profoundly affect the way Americans eat. The Culinary Revolution is often credited to Alice Waters
, the owner of Chez Panisse
restaurant in Berkeley
, California
; however, such claims are sometimes contested and the movement attributed to collaborations of other individuals. The mantra of using fresh, local, and seasonal ingredients at Waters's Chez Panisse, as well as other similar "New American cuisine
" restaurants, has greatly changed food served in restaurants and at home, thus creating California Cuisine
and a broader movement in the cuisine of the United States
.
in 1965. She began to see that some of her peers deprived themselves of good food. Waters is known to believe that
Waters introduced to America many foods that today may seem commonplace, such as salads of mixed greens.
, established in 1971, is considered to be one of the most influential dining establishments in the United States
. This was the public venue in which Waters could put her culinary ideals into practice, using fresh, local, and seasonal ingredients. The restaurant established working relationships with local farmers and suppliers in order to do so. It also launched the careers of many notable chefs, including Jeremiah Tower
, and Paul Bertolli
.
has often credited Alice Waters with the invention of the then "new" style of "California Cuisine
." He left Chez Panisse in 1977 and began an important career on his own. From 1978 to 1981 he worked at other Northern California
restaurants, like Ventana in Big Sur
and Balboa Cafe in San Francisco. He also taught briefly at the California Culinary Academy during the school's earlier years, around 1978.
Tower opened his own restaurant, the widely acclaimed Stars in San Francisco; it was a business partnership with the same investors involved in another popular restaurant called "Santa Fe Bar and Grill" in Berkeley, California. Tower knew the chef who opened Santa Fe Bar & Grill, as he was a former colleague at Chez Panisse.
Tower has criticized Waters for taking most, if not all, the praise and credit for the acclaim of Chez Panisse; furthermore, he seems to criticize her for taking credit for the primary leadership in the new "California Cuisine" movement and the American "Culinary Revolution.". He also questions Waters' role as an actual "chef" in the kitchen, implying that she has not cooked in years, then also questions her role in the restaurant altogether. Tower has written about this issue of contention in his book, California Dish: What I saw (and cooked) at the American Culinary Revolution (2003), quoting many of his peers from Chez Panisse for support. Many of these peers have since gone on to other ventures, much as Tower himself has done. Many of them are equally popular and prolific in the ongoing development of the new "California Cuisine" or the "New American Classics" to which Tower refers.
Tower is praised for his contributions by various popular chefs, among them Sara Moulton
and Jacques Pepin
. On the back of "California Dish" the following quotations appear:
Free Speech Movement
The Free Speech Movement was a student protest which took place during the 1964–1965 academic year on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley under the informal leadership of students Mario Savio, Brian Turner, Bettina Aptheker, Steve Weissman, Art Goldberg, Jackie Goldberg, and...
, when sociopolitical issues began to profoundly affect the way Americans eat. The Culinary Revolution is often credited to Alice Waters
Alice Waters
Alice Louise Waters is an American chef, restaurateur, activist, and author. She is the owner of Chez Panisse, a Berkeley, California restaurant famous for its organic, locally-grown ingredients and for pioneering California cuisine.Waters opened the restaurant in 1971. It has consistently ranked...
, the owner of Chez Panisse
Chez Panisse
Chez Panisse is a Berkeley, California restaurant known for using local, organic foods and credited as the inspiration for the style of cooking known as California cuisine. Well-known restauranteur, author, and food activist Alice Waters co-founded Chez Panisse in 1971 with film producer Paul...
restaurant in Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
; however, such claims are sometimes contested and the movement attributed to collaborations of other individuals. The mantra of using fresh, local, and seasonal ingredients at Waters's Chez Panisse, as well as other similar "New American cuisine
New American cuisine
New American cuisine is a term for upscale, contemporary cooking served primarily in restaurants in the United States. Combining flavors from America's melting pot with traditional techniques, New American cuisine includes ethnic twists on old standbys, Old World peasant dishes made from luxury...
" restaurants, has greatly changed food served in restaurants and at home, thus creating California Cuisine
California Cuisine
California cuisine is a style of cuisine marked by an interest in fusion cuisine and in the use of freshly prepared local ingredients.The food is typically prepared with strong attention to presentation...
and a broader movement in the cuisine of the United States
Cuisine of the United States
American cuisine is a style of food preparation originating from the United States of America. European colonization of the Americas yielded the introduction of a number of ingredients and cooking styles to the latter...
.
Alice Waters
Waters developed a new view of the importance of food during her first trip to FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1965. She began to see that some of her peers deprived themselves of good food. Waters is known to believe that
“'It’s not enough to liberate yourself politically, to liberate yourself sexually – you have to liberate all the senses.’ She believed that eating together was a socially progressive act, one that was under threat from the fifties American – TV, frozen-food culture.”
Waters introduced to America many foods that today may seem commonplace, such as salads of mixed greens.
"We were doing those very early on. I think lettuce was my first passion. I was bringing seeds over in the early seventies from France and planting 'em in my back yard, wanting a French kind of salad, with frisè and mâcheCorn saladCorn salad is a small dicot annual plant of the family Valerianaceae...
. I'm sure I have contributed to the awful demise of the concept of mesclunMesclunMesclun is a salad mix of assorted small, young salad leaves which originated in Provence, France. The traditional mix includes chervil, arugula, leafy lettuces and endive in equal proportions, but in modern iterations may include an undetermined mix of fresh and available lettuces, spinach,...
, just by promoting it in many, many, many ways. And now, of course, one of those big companies has grabbed on to the idea, and they cut up big lettuces and put 'em in a bag, mix 'em up, and call 'em mesclun. Who is it -- DoleDole Food CompanyDole Food Company, Inc. is an American-based agricultural multinational corporation headquartered in Westlake Village, California. The company is the largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world, operating with 74,300 full-time and seasonal employees who are responsible for over 300...
pineapple or somebody?"
Chez Panisse
Chez PanisseChez Panisse
Chez Panisse is a Berkeley, California restaurant known for using local, organic foods and credited as the inspiration for the style of cooking known as California cuisine. Well-known restauranteur, author, and food activist Alice Waters co-founded Chez Panisse in 1971 with film producer Paul...
, established in 1971, is considered to be one of the most influential dining establishments in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. This was the public venue in which Waters could put her culinary ideals into practice, using fresh, local, and seasonal ingredients. The restaurant established working relationships with local farmers and suppliers in order to do so. It also launched the careers of many notable chefs, including Jeremiah Tower
Jeremiah Tower
Jeremiah Tower is an American celebrity chef who, along with Wolfgang Puck, Alice Waters, and Jonathan Waxman, is generally credited with developing the culinary style known as California cuisine.-Biography:...
, and Paul Bertolli
Paul Bertolli
Paul Bertolli is a chef, writer, and artisan food producer in the San Francisco Bay area of California. Until mid-2005, he was the executive chef of the Oliveto restaurant in Oakland, California...
.
Counter-Claim
Jeremiah TowerJeremiah Tower
Jeremiah Tower is an American celebrity chef who, along with Wolfgang Puck, Alice Waters, and Jonathan Waxman, is generally credited with developing the culinary style known as California cuisine.-Biography:...
has often credited Alice Waters with the invention of the then "new" style of "California Cuisine
California Cuisine
California cuisine is a style of cuisine marked by an interest in fusion cuisine and in the use of freshly prepared local ingredients.The food is typically prepared with strong attention to presentation...
." He left Chez Panisse in 1977 and began an important career on his own. From 1978 to 1981 he worked at other Northern California
Northern California
Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...
restaurants, like Ventana in Big Sur
Big Sur
Big Sur is a sparsely populated region of the Central Coast of California where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. The name "Big Sur" is derived from the original Spanish-language "el sur grande", meaning "the big south", or from "el país grande del sur", "the big...
and Balboa Cafe in San Francisco. He also taught briefly at the California Culinary Academy during the school's earlier years, around 1978.
Tower opened his own restaurant, the widely acclaimed Stars in San Francisco; it was a business partnership with the same investors involved in another popular restaurant called "Santa Fe Bar and Grill" in Berkeley, California. Tower knew the chef who opened Santa Fe Bar & Grill, as he was a former colleague at Chez Panisse.
Tower has criticized Waters for taking most, if not all, the praise and credit for the acclaim of Chez Panisse; furthermore, he seems to criticize her for taking credit for the primary leadership in the new "California Cuisine" movement and the American "Culinary Revolution.". He also questions Waters' role as an actual "chef" in the kitchen, implying that she has not cooked in years, then also questions her role in the restaurant altogether. Tower has written about this issue of contention in his book, California Dish: What I saw (and cooked) at the American Culinary Revolution (2003), quoting many of his peers from Chez Panisse for support. Many of these peers have since gone on to other ventures, much as Tower himself has done. Many of them are equally popular and prolific in the ongoing development of the new "California Cuisine" or the "New American Classics" to which Tower refers.
Tower is praised for his contributions by various popular chefs, among them Sara Moulton
Sara Moulton
Sara Moulton is an American chef, cookbook author and television personality.Moulton is a food editor for Good Morning America, a morning news and talk show broadcast on the ABC television network...
and Jacques Pepin
Jacques Pépin
Jacques Pépin is an internationally recognized French chef, television personality, and author working in the United States. Born in Bourg-en-Bresse, Lyon in France, Pepin was raised by a father and mother who jointly owned a restaurant, where he later credited the start of his love for food. He...
. On the back of "California Dish" the following quotations appear:
"The food of Jeremiah Tower has always satisfied my belly and my soul. He was there from the start and is more qualified than anyone else to tell the story of the American food revolution of the last thirty years" -Jacques Pepin
"California Dish delivers on the double meaning implicit in its title - it serves up a longtime insider's juicy perspective on the key players of the American culinary revolution..." -Sara Moulton
See also
- Cuisine of the United StatesCuisine of the United StatesAmerican cuisine is a style of food preparation originating from the United States of America. European colonization of the Americas yielded the introduction of a number of ingredients and cooking styles to the latter...
- Local foodLocal foodLocal food or the local food movement is a "collaborative effort to build more locally based, self-reliant food economies - one in which sustainable food production, processing, distribution, and consumption is integrated to enhance the economic, environmental and social health of a particular...
and LocavoresLocavoresA locavore is a person interested in eating food that is locally produced, not moved long distances to market. The locavore movement in the United States and elsewhere was spawned as interest in sustainability and eco-consciousness became more prevalent.... - California cuisineCalifornia CuisineCalifornia cuisine is a style of cuisine marked by an interest in fusion cuisine and in the use of freshly prepared local ingredients.The food is typically prepared with strong attention to presentation...
and Cuisine of CaliforniaCuisine of CaliforniaThe cuisine of California is the local cuisine of the U.S. state of California.- Local ingredients :A highly varied range of micro-climates, dominated by a mild Mediterranean climate, and popular health-conscious diets and lifestyles in California promote the production, use and consumption of... - Alice WatersAlice WatersAlice Louise Waters is an American chef, restaurateur, activist, and author. She is the owner of Chez Panisse, a Berkeley, California restaurant famous for its organic, locally-grown ingredients and for pioneering California cuisine.Waters opened the restaurant in 1971. It has consistently ranked...
Sources
- Bertoli, Paul and Alice Waters. Chez Panisse Cooking. New York: Random House, 1988. ISBN 0-394-55908-8
- Tower, Jeremiah. California Dish: What I Saw (and Cooked) at the American Culinary Revolution. New York: Free Press, 2003. ISBN 0-7432-2844-8 or 0-7432-2845-6.
- Tower, Jeremiah. New American Classics. New York: Harper and Row, 1986.