Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher, local Glen Ellen resident, insisted on good, honest food and good, honest writing. That said, she was also famously cryptic and charmingly enigmatic.
“Today we’re accustomed to seeing food celebrities leap to fame, reign for a moment, then fade. But there was nothing superficial or faddish about Beard’s cooking: he was concerned with the essentials of technique, taste, and pleasure just as Julia Child was, and he was way ahead of her in his passion for American ingredients. Huge, bald, and genial, he was an unmistakable figure wherever he showed up around the country—giving a demonstration, judging a cooking contest, presiding at a table full of friends at the best restaurants.” –Gourmet.com
California grown Deborah Madison grew up on a walnut orchard with a father who grew great gardens. She studied at San Francisco Zen Center for eighteen years. And what began as a mild interest in cooking grew to a passion that included stints at Chez Panisse and the opening of Greens restaurant, one of the early Bay Area restaurants to have a farm-driven menu. Since her years at Greens, she has been largely known as a cook, writer and cooking teacher whose specialities are seasonal, vegetarian.
Alice Waters, founder of Chez Panisse and an inventor of California Cuisine, helped give Berkeley its reputation for socially conscious fine living — a tradition that dates back to the 19th century. Photo courtesy of Chez Panisse.
