Alice Waters Doesn't Cook Here Anymore | Best meal of my life, Part II
But it doesn’t matter. David Tanis does, and I would eat whatever David cooks no matter what, where, or when.
Alice is the founder and genius behind Chez Panisse, which she opened in 1971 with friends on Shattuck Avenue and Cedar on the north side Berkeley, California. Alice had gone to France and returned insistent on the best quality food using the freshest ingredients. From a slow start that included an “unfinished kitchen” and “insufficient silverware” during its first week of operations (Vanity Fair, Oct 2006), Alice’s Chez Panisse has developed into one of the finest fine dining experiences anywhere on the planet. And I have eaten many places on this planet.
But who is David Tanis? David has been cooking at Chez Panisse for more than 25 years. And while Alice wasn’t there (isn’t there), David invited us into the kitchen at Chez Panisse. Actually, the wait help invited us, and then while we tip-toed gingerly, the chefs beckoned us in further, until David himself took the upper hand.
We saw the the evening’s ahi marinating while they awaited their personal searing on the wood-fired grill. (I swear, the ahi cooked au poivre tasted like steak!) Baskets of freshly baked breads displayed their full crusts. At the back of the wide open kitchen, the pastry chefs were perfectly at ease whipping and stirring. No leaping flames, clattering pans, shoving of oven doors, or yells of “Order up!” - this could have been a Zen experience.
David personally showed us the Cannard Farm figs, freshly picked and waiting to be pinched for ripeness in their bowl. Finding a mature fruit, he squeezed it open for us with his fingers and offered a tasting. Mmmm. I have never savored figs, fresh or Newtoned, until now.
He’s not a big man. Rather like a sedated Rick Moranis in cook’s clothing (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids; Ghostbusters). And he, like his restaurant — did I say “his” restaurant? I meant Alice’s — is all about the food. At Chez Panisse there are no celebrity chefs, no hauty cuisine, no full-of-it waiters with suspicious European accents.
Good food, good friends, good times. And that’s a perfect evening.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Great Vanity Fair article on the people and history behind Alice Waters and Chez Panisse:
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2006/10/kamp_excerpt200610
More on David Tanis and why people are talking about his food
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/17/FD6212RSU5.DTL
http://www.pdxfoodpress.com/?p=3212
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/07/magazine/07food-t-1.html?ex=1378353600&en=6f850bbaac46d70d&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
David’s new cook book, A Platter of Figs
Read about it at barnesandnoble.com because Amazon doesn’t do it justice.
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/A-Platter-of-Figs-and-Other-Recipes/David-Tanis/e/9781579653460
