San Francisco’s famed restaurant Chez Panisse, the cradle of the locavore movement, is turning 40 this week—and what better time to honor its singular founder, Alice Waters? The indefatigable 67-year-old has dedicated her life to changing the way we eat, leading a “delicious revolution” to chuck frozen and processed foods in favor of local, market-fresh cuisine. This weekend, the Bay Area is bursting its buttons to honor all things Alice and raise funds for her nonprofit organization, The Edible Schoolyard Project.
VIEW: The unveiling of Alice Waters’s Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery portrait, at the University of California Berkley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, on August 26. The photograph was shot by Dave Woody under a mulberry tree in the Edible Schoolyard. (Mulberry cocktails will be served at the party.) This marks the first time the NPG has allowed a portrait to be debuted off-site.
HARVEST: The BAM/PFA flowerbeds on August 27. Use the squash, herbs, lettuces, corn and beans in interactive cooking installations by OPENeducation.
EAT: A Provençal feast of a lifetime at Chez Panisse on August 27, or snag a seat at the table in one of the many private homes hosting alumni chefs that evening.
WATCH: A film by Marcel Pagnol at BAM/PFA until August 31. The French filmmaker’s lovestruck widower, Honoré Panisse, is the restaurant’s namesake.
BUY: Alice’s new cookbook, 40 Years of Chez Panisse: The Power of Gathering, which hit shelves August 23.
Portrait-unveiling party, $100; Chez Panisse dinner, $500-$2,500; chezpanissefoundation.org/40th. To request a seat at the table, email 40th@chezpanissefoundation.org.
