Alice Waters Celebrates New Cookbook, "The Art of Simple Food II," With Bon Appétit

Let's get this out of the way: Last night we got to hang out with Alice Waters in our very own BA Kitchen. The OG Locavore, who opened her landmark restaurant Chez Panisse over 40 years ago, has received nearly every accolade possible—most recently the Wall Street Journal's Humanitarian Innovator Award earlier this week.

While we don't really need an excuse to party with Alice Waters, we were there to celebrate the release of Waters' latest book (her twelfth, by our count) The Art of Simple Food II. Waters was the guest of honor, while chef and acclaimed cookbook author Mona Talbott prepared a meal with recipes coming directly out of the new book. Guests included our very own Editor in Chief Adam Rapoport and Executive Editor Christine Muhlke along with food world folks like restaurateur Andrew Tarlow, Reynard chef Sean Rembold, Food 52 co-founder Amanda Hesser, cookbook author Margot Henderson, and GQ Editor in Chief Jim Nelson.

And what was on the plate, you ask? There was parsnip soup with fried sage and walnut pesto. A standout dish of meaty pork shoulder braised in milk and fennel pollen, served with turnips and fresh cannellini beans. Waters says salads as her biggest "cooking crutch" ("I always travel with oil and vinegar in my suitcase so I can make a vinaigrette wherever I go"), so, naturally, there was a salad of chicories with persimmon and pomegranate.

The night ended with a fair amount of red wine and a pair of beautiful galettes made with apple and quince. When the conversation (and the wine consumption) slowed at the end of the night, small cups of mint and lemon verbena tisane were passed around the table—the Berkeley version of amaro, we suppose. From now on, we won't end any epic meal without it.