California cuisine

History

One of the first proponents of using fresh, locally available foods was Helen Evans Brown, who published Helen Brown's West Coast Cookbook in 1952. She advocated using fruits and spices available in one's neighborhood, forgoing poor grocery store substitutes, as well as fresh seafood, caught locally. The book received wide acclaim and became the "template" for what is now thought of as California cuisine.

Alice Waters, who opened the restaurant Chez Panisse in 1971 in Berkeley, has contributed significantly to the concept of California cuisine.

At about the same time, in Yountville in the Napa Valley, Sally Schmitt began serving single-menu monthly dinners that emphasized local ingredients, continuing the concept when she and her husband Don opened the French Laundry in 1978.

In Los Angeles, Wolfgang Puck was also an early pioneer of California cuisine, starting with his work at Patrick Terrail's Ma Maison and later with Ed LaDou on California-style pizza at Spago and Asian fusion at Chinois on Main.

Mark Peel, who worked for both Waters and Puck, went on to co-found La Brea Bakery and Campanile Restaurant with his then-wife Nancy Silverton. As executive chef, he mentored other up-and-coming chefs.

Daniel Patterson, a modern proponent of the style, emphasizes vegetables and foraged foods while maintaining the traditional emphasis on local ingredients and presentation.

References

References

1. 0-313-33877-9, 440, page 212
2. (2013). "Inside the California Food Revolution: Thirty Years that Changed Our culinary Consciousness". University of California Press.
3. (October 5, 2016). "3 Classic (and Vastly Underappreciated) Books That Changed the Way We Cook". Bonnier.
4. Straus, Karen Cope. (June 1997). "Alice Waters: Earth Mother of California Cuisine". [[Vegetarian Times]].
5. ''Food Fight, Revolution Never Tasted So Good!'' A Documentary by Chris Taylor, 2008.
6. "Sally's Kitchens Sally's Kitchens: A Half-Century of Real California Food".
7. (2013). "Inside the California Food Revolution: Thirty Years that Changed our Culinary Consciousness". University of California Press.
8. "Wine Talks with Paul Kalemkiarian: Famed Restaurateur Patrick Terrail of Ma Maison".
9. (July 19, 2013). "America's 10 best steakhouses". Fox News.
10. (September 28, 2012). "Campanile closing? The dining scene loses a standard-setter".
11. (September 29, 2012). "Six degrees of Campanile chefs".
12. "Daniel Patterson and Gabrielle Hamilton: On Food and Writing". Time Out.
13. Schwartz, Charlie. (October 15, 2013). "6 Lessons from the Pioneer of Modern California Cuisine". Huffington Post.