Alice Waters & Julia Child

Julia Child and Alice Waters were two of the most influential women in the culinary world in the past fifty years. One brought fine cuisine that seemed to be out of reach for most people into the homes of millions of Americans, the other is said to be the creator of a culinary revolution during the 70's. In each case there is no arguing the impact these two women have left on the culinary industry.

Julia Child, born Julia McWilliams in California, was never inspired to become a chef or even cook for that matter. She attended Smith College where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History. As mentioned in the book United States of Arugula, Julia worked for the government and was moved to China where she met her future husband Paul Child. When Paul was reassigned for service in the American Embassy in Paris Julia got her first taste of true French cuisine and there was no turning back. There she attended the Le Cordon Blue School for six months and fine tuned her cooking skill. After her time at school she worked together with two of her classmates and opened the L'Ecole de Trois Gourmandes School. The three graduates had a goal in mind of adapting fine French cuisine for main-stream America, so they worked together on Julia's most widely known cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. After the release of her book Julia Child moved back to states and lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts. From there she was asked to tape her own series called The French Chef. The TV show, just like the book, was groundbreaking in that it changed the way people thought about their food. Julia had many different TV shows and numerous cookbooks that she produced throughout her illustrious career. Although Julia is no longer with us her legacy lives on with her kitchen immortalized in the Smithsonian and millions of men and women still owning and using her recipes from her many cookbooks. It is no doubt that Julia Child influenced the American palate and the way we look at food.

Alice Waters was born on the other side of the country in Chatham, New Jersey. Unlike Julia, Waters always had a passion for food, she turned that passion into her now famous Chez Panisse restaurant which continues to this day be a landmark in the "sustainability/slow foods revolution". She graduated from the University of California at Berkley in 1967 with a degree in French cultural studies and like Child trained in Europe and traveled through France. Waters eventually settled down with Stephen Singer and they had a daughter which Alice named her smaller breakfast and lunch restaurant after (Café Fanny). Alice Waters opened Chez Panisse in 1971 based on her philosophy of serving the freshest, best quality product that was available. Many chefs claim to have been using this philosophy long before Chez Panisse was on the map but Waters was able to bring it to a whole new level. With UC Berkley attracting more and more health conscience and all around food conscience individuals, it was the perfect site for a restaurant where the customer knew exactly where the product was coming from and how it was being treated. On several occasions Chez Panisse almost shut down because Waters was not a true chef and didn't know how to handle a restaurant, but thanks to her drive and people working for her, the restaurant still remains open. Waters has written many books and received many awards. She is also the leading advocate in farm-to-school programs and remains a leader in farm fresh, sustainable practices.

Though these two women were born in two very different times and spoke to two very different cultures, they remain the same in that they have educated Americans on food and increased the sophistication of the American palate.