Go Ask Alice

This week I’ve been completely absorbed in the history of famed Berkeley restaurant Chez Panisse and the biography of its brilliant and eccentric founder. Alice Waters and Chez Panisse recounts the journey from a 1970′s “counterculture” venture to the institution credited with a modern food revolution that promotes simplicity, freshness and seasonality. Such a fascinating read, and I must share a paragraph from the forward that encompasses Waters’ vision, as well as my own ambitions in entertaining and planning events:

Her determination has been hitched to a vision, one that has gripped Ms. Waters from the time of her first visit to France. “The cultural experience, that aesthetic, that paying attention to every little detail- I wanted to live my life like that.” So she made a restaurant about much more than food, taking infinite pains with flowers and lighting and color, menu design, the sequence of dishes and the pace of service. To borrow a concept from (German), you might call Chez Panisse a Gesamtkunstwerk, a unitary work of art in which numerous elements play indispensable parts.

Thanks to Alice, I’m challenged to notice the sensory details…To not take short cuts…And most of all, to savor and enjoy the tiniest moments of beauty that bring joy to each day.