The New York Times bestselling and critically acclaimed memoir from
cultural icon and culinary standard bearer Alice Waters recalls the
circuitous road and tumultuous times leading to the opening of what is
arguably America's most influential restaurant.
When Alice Waters opened the doors of her little French restaurant in
Berkeley, California in 1971 at the age of 27, no one ever anticipated
the indelible mark it would leave on the culinary landscape--Alice least
of all. Fueled in equal parts by naiveté and a relentless pursuit of
beauty and pure flavor, she turned her passion project into an iconic
institution that redefined American cuisine for generations of chefs and
food lovers. In Coming to My Senses Alice retraces the events that led
her to 1517 Shattuck Avenue and the tumultuous times that emboldened her
to find her own voice as a cook when the prevailing food culture was
embracing convenience and uniformity. Moving from a repressive suburban
upbringing to Berkeley in 1964 at the height of the Free Speech Movement
and campus unrest, she was drawn into a bohemian circle of charismatic
figures whose views on design, politics, film, and food would ultimately
inform the unique culture on which Chez Panisse was founded. Dotted with
stories, recipes, photographs, and letters, Coming to My Senses is at
once deeply personal and modestly understated, a quietly revealing look
at one woman's evolution from a rebellious yet impressionable follower
to a respected activist who effects social and political change on a
global level through the common bond of food.
