CONVERSATIONS WITH ALICE WATERS
B Y M A E M A Ñ AC A P - J O H N S O N
ALICE WATERS—executive chef,
founder and owner of Chez Panisse—
adds a different flavor to the modern-day
food revolution. A passionate advocate
2015 ISPA Y of the Slow Food movement, she
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speaks of the indispensable role local
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farmers play in providing everyone
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access to clean and healthy food,
especially to children in public schools.
Waters, who will be gracing this year’s
General Session stage, has pushed for food
education through The Edible Schoolyard
Project, which calls for the integration of
nutritious daily lunch and gardening
experience in the academic curriculum of
public schools. For her efforts, she has been
widely recognized through multiple honors
and awards, one of which is the 2015 ISPA
Alex Szekely Humanitarian Award.
PULSE: Who influenced your love for food and cooking?
Alice Waters: Elizabeth David, Lulu Peyraud, Richard Olney,
Diana Kennedy, Madhur Jaffrey, Cecilia Chang and Darina Allen.
P: What sparked the idea of Chez Panisse?
W: I wanted a place where my friends could come and eat delicious food—the way I had experienced it during my time spent
living in France. I was looking for the taste of food in France and
to share the awakening that I had there.
P: You once mentioned that when you started your
restaurant business, you didn’t really intend to start a
food revolution but simply wanted to offer different
flavors. What tipped the scale for you to eventually be
actively involved in this revolution?
W: When I realized how valuable the organic farmers were to
the success of Chez Panisse, I wanted to support them. So I put
their names on the menus and spoke publicly about the importance of local organic food.
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October 2015
P: You are passionate about educating kids about sustainable food and providing them access to healthy
meals in school. In what way has The Edible Schoolyard
Project helped realize this mission?
W: One thing The Edible Schoolyard Project has taught me is
that, when children grow food and they cook it, they all want to
eat it. Our program helps to bring children into a new relationship
with food, agriculture and the environment. An Edible Education
model with a sustainable school lunch program has the power to
transform the health and values of every child in America.
P: In your opinion, what are the factors that drive
the growing acceptance and support of the Slow Food
movement?
W: Taking care of the land, educating children, feeding ourselves
in nutritious and delicious ways and bringing communities
together at the table is the common language of Slow Food. It
was the values of taste and pleasure that brought me into this
movement but I believe it is the values of social justice, connect-