Since we heard about some chefs who are not exactly following the all-natural philosophy of the "Alice Waters school of cooking" yesterday, it seems only fair to take a look at one of her cookbooks today. The Chez Panisse Café Cookbook has a lot of material on her beliefs, her philosophies about food, ingredients and cooking, and even a few recipes to complement the text. Essentially, the core of Waters' beliefs is that food should be produced as sustainably as possible and served when it as fresh as it can be. Her recipes focus on highlighting the flavor of the ingredients in as close to a natural state as possible.
Chez Panisse Café is not exactly the same restaurant as Chez Panisse. It is actually a somewhat more casual restaurant above the Chez Panisse dining room where dishes are ordered a la carte, rather than as part of a prix fixe. Not that the less formal presentation detracts from the food or flavors. Instead it gives the chefs a bit wider range of dishes to work with, both casual and fancy. The recipes in this cookbook are some of both: Beef Carpaccio with Capers, Parmesan and Anchovies, Roast Pork Loin with Rosemary and Fennel, Meyer Lemon Eclairs and Pizzetta with Farm Egg and Prosciutto.
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