Chez Panisse 50th

On August 28, 2021, Chez Panisse celebrates its 50th anniversary. It is remarkable for a restaurant to be open for ten, twenty, thirty years, but fifty years is truly extraordinary. You’d be hard-pressed to overstate the influence of Chez Panisse on American cuisine. And on a much smaller scale, I am grateful for the role that both the restaurant and Alice Waters have had on my life. I cherish my memories of my time working there and the friendships formed—it was exactly ten years ago, during the lead-up to the 40th anniversary. I had recently graduated from Cal, and I was working three jobs to save money for graduate school. I remember staff lunch always included ice cream for dessert; this delighted me to no end. Please believe I ate a scoop every single day. I learned to love tisane, tea made by steeping a bouquet of fresh fragrant herbs like lemon verbena. The office bathroom was stocked with Mrs. Meyer’s rose geranium hand soap, and that’s precisely the soap I use in my home bathroom today. The scent will always remind me of Chez Panisse. I’ve been lucky to eat downstairs at Chez a couple of times. Once, when Graham and I were in college and his parents treated us to an incredibly special dinner to celebrate his birthday and graduation. Most recently, we sat at the same table on the day that Graham asked me to marry him.

Joyeux anniversaire, Chez Panisse! Thank you for everything.