Fanny At Chez Panisse by Alice Waters.

This beautiful and whimsical cover caught my eye yesterday. It took maybe an hour for me to read.

Told from Fanny’s perspective it’s a gentle depiction of the joys of fine dining.

I liked reading this- it reminded me of when I was a pastry chef and we’d cluster around an exciting fresh or new ingredient. Or when I’d experiment with different flavors. I made delicious lavender and lemon gelato. I’d make us milkshakes at the end of a long day and the cool lemon was so nice and the lavender so delicate.

As far as content considerations there is mention of Fanny getting a pinch (maybe on the bottom I don’t recall) and not liking it. There are also a couple mentions of organic food being better and one of Alice Waters currently working with food justice. Still extremely low on politics and I’m only mentioning it to be thorough.

The illustrations are fantastic and it’s really quite lovely as a peek into life as the child of a restaurateur. I might pair this with Night Of The Moonjellies.

There is also a section of simple recipes. If you do not know, Alice Waters is all about freshness and seasonality so that is an important thing to consider when cooking these. ( )

I want to try some recipes. ( )

The kids are enjoying this as a read aloud... ( )

Some 30 years ago, Alice Waters founded Chez Panisse in Berkeley. She believes in fresh food, locally grown, used in season. Old hat, you say? Only because of Ms. Waters.

This is a book of stories and recipes, told from the viewpoint of Fanny, a little girl whose mother (Ms. Waters) and friends run Chez Panisse.