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>> WU: I'm Olivia Wu. And, I'm one of the seven Google executive chefs and one of some
400 cooks on this campus from dishwasher to chef; all of us in someway or other have been
touched profoundly by our guest, Alice Waters. If you've eaten at any café, your lives have
been enriched by her, it's an honor for me to welcome her. In the '90s when I was a journalist
in Chicago, I had the chance to interview Alice, I don't know if you remember this,
Alice. The resulting story I wrote prompted one reader to write back to me saying she
would never again look at a piece of food in her local store the same way. She said
the story changed my life. There are only a few seminal moments like this in the journalist
life and this was one of them for me. When I knew for sure I was doing the right thing
and doing a good thing, and it was only because I was a messenger for Alice. Alice's spear
of influence has truly inspired what has been called and rightly so a revolution in this
country. And I don't call it a food revolution because it is a revolution, it is about food
and how it touches all of us and the whole culture. So what she started is a movement
that is far greater than the 60 seat iconic store front restaurant she founded in Berkeley.
She grew the restaurant not by profits and not by volume, but by the idea to have cooking
and gardening in the nearby Berkeley's school which became the Edible Schoolyard. Her ideas
grew to embrace a foundation housed next to the restaurant then the entire 10,000 strong
students population of the Berkeley United School District, gardens and prisons and other
communities. At the same time, she wrote cookbooks and as well, grew generations of cooks who
then flew out of the Chez Panisse nest to open their own restaurants. These restaurants
and kitchens were built on the same belief that good food, food that nourishes, awakens,
delights and builds individual's families and communities begins at the source. The
source is the soil and the farmers who steward the land and who grow food as artisans. It's
a simple idea but so easy to stray from. We have, as a nation straight from both the philosophy
and the practice of caring for our farmlands and therefore, our food, our children, our
families. As you know, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, a whole string of chronic diseases
are at epidemic proportions in this country. And I believe that as a planet, we're in similar
danger. I've been on assignment in China, I grew up in Thailand, and I see so many parts
of the third world going in the same direction of processed high volume of chemical food
production. Simplicity is at the core of Alice's ideals and she's here today in part to talk
about her latest book: The Art of Simple Food. And, and Alice is nothing if not about sensory.
As you can see, she's going to have us see, touch and taste what food is about. So it's
one of the things I admire most about her is this firm foundation of beliefs, she doesn't
budge from them. Two days ago, a couple of us visited the Edible Schoolyard and then
we ended by having lunch at Café ***, and one of us was talking about what we do, we
change our menus everyday and Alice simply looked at him and said, "Why? Why do you change
your menus every day?" She said, "I could eat some of the dishes we make here every
day, they are so good." And it is this simplicity that I so admire in her. She's also here to
brainstorm with us later on the reform of the National School Lunch Program, so she
doesn't think small, this woman. It is one of the collaborations that I hardly hope Google
can engage in with her. And in so many ways, I think, Alice's vision and Google's parallel
each other. Google's mission is to make the world's information accessible and useful.
And to Alice, real nourishing food from farm to table should be a basic human right. Alice's
mission is to make that kind of food accessible and useful. Please join me in welcoming her.
>> WATERS: Well, I've always wanted to be a vegetable vendor and I've always wanted
to come to Google. So, here I am, a vegetable vendor at Google and you can tell exactly
what month this is so I know what this is, it's because tomatoes are absolutely at their
peak. You know, we can begin eating them in June in California, those little tiny ones,
they come in June. July, they're good, August, they're getting there but September, they're
completely ripe and irresistible, and the same with the peppers. These are, this is
what's happening right now. We went to the farmer's market yesterday and brought all
these food right at the farmer's market, right in front of Chez Panisse. You know when I
first fell in love with food and I was awakened. I, undoubtedly, know that I was dipped and
indoctrinated when I first went to France when I was 19. But every day on the way to
school, I went by these open markets and I just couldn't believe my eyes, I mean, and
we go in these little restaurants and gather with friends, and we get to eat this food.
It's very simple. I didn't have any money then to spend on food and I had grown up in
New Jersey on, you know what, New Jersey cuisine was like in the '50s. It all just came in,
in cans to Hoboken. You know, they did, they did a lampoon, a Harvard lampoon piece on
the, on New Jersey cuisine--New Jersey cooking. And, it was one of those that, that was exactly
like the Time Life Series and so there were these little pictures every step was, was
in a little box there, and I'll never forget they were teaching people how to boil water,
really. Now, turn on the tap, you know, put the pan under the, you know, just this way
and I just thought how could that have happened, you know, that we, that I grew up in a place
where people were so disconnected to their food. I--my family had a victory garden during
the war and we always had, you know, food from the garden. We had this beautiful corn--where
is my corn? This beautiful corn, and tomatoes and I loved them my whole life because we
picked them right before we cook them, threw them in the water, sliced the tomatoes and
that was dinner. But, a lot of people don't eat like that anymore. I mean, I would say
and I've heard and I believe it's true that as many as 85% of the population in this country
doesn't sit down for a meal with family and friends. Now they may think they do because
they kind of set the table for the kids and they give the kids, you know, something to
eat and maybe they come in at the end of the meal and they eat something else. Or, or maybe
they, you know, are watching, let's see, what would they be watching on television for the
virtual experience like Martha Stewart and they're sitting there and they're watching
that and feeling like they're cooking, and participating. But most people haven't made
the time for that, and I think it's really because we haven't tasted something that's
irresistible. You know I didn't start the restaurant because I believed in sustainability.
I mean, I did grow up in Berkeley and so I had some of that in me, but I didn't do it
for that reason. I was just trying to find food that tasted like the food that I've eaten
in France and I couldn't find it. You know I used to go through all of the green beans
in a box, all of the green beans, taking out the little, tiny Kentucky wonder green beans
because I thought they were the variety of aricover (ph) like French green beans. They
were just immature Kentucky wonder beans but it took me a long time and I threw out the
whole rest of the box and just took my little handful so we had to get ten boxes of it to
do that and it used to take us eight hours to do the lettuce because I wanted every outer
leaf to be taken off because they were so bruised. I just wanted that little inner one,
but, of course, it depends on how you pick that lettuce and you don't have to wait until
it's all overgrown and slightly bolted in the center. You pick that lettuce when it's
young. But, this is a whole process that we went through at the restaurant and it began
by somebody growing us some radishes in their backyard nearby and I decided I would trade
lunch at Chez Panisse for the radishes. And then, this person put in a few other things,
they said, this is a good deal. And, oh then, somebody came in with a little handful of
fingerling potatoes from Germany and he said, about how many, can I--my wife and I eat upstairs
for this little, this little handful of potatoes. And, of course, I said yes but, 20 years later,
I realized that he had brought me my first fingerling potatoes. They were a variety that
was very special to him and his family because they had brought the seeds from Germany and
planted them, but I didn't know that then, thank, God, I gave them a couple of meals
but, it was, it's this whole, a kind of--it takes time to do it. But, the great part is
this reward that you get at the end, and it's not only beautiful but, you realize that at
the same time that you're eating, you're taking care of the people who are taking care of
the land for the future. So every time I go to the farmer's market, I feel like I am making
a donation to the future of this country and the greenbelt around San Francisco. They will
say it's too expensive, you know, they overprice everything at the Ferry Plaza Market, why
are you going shopping there? And I say over and over, I want to make that donation. I
want to give my money to those people; I want to give them my feedback. And, you know, why
don't we order everything on the computer, why don't you? It's much easier to do it that
way. Why are you calling people up and taking so much time? And, I say, you know, I want
to talk to Bob Kennar, he's a farmer who's one hour from Chez Panisse and he's been growing
vegetables for us for 20 years. And, I want to know how he is kind of because if I can
have his vegetables, if I didn't have those, Chez Panisse would not be what it is. This
is our 38th birthday of the restaurant and it's always new to me because of the varieties
of produce and the breeds of animals and the way people discover things in the ocean that
we can eat and I'm just, I'm kind of thrilled by it. But, I want to talk to Bob because
he amuses me, that's why I want to talk to Bob. He's always making a joke on the phone
and he kind of lifts my spirit. He says, "I'll send you down a big old branch with cherries
and why don't you just pass them around the dining room and people can pick their own,"
and I thought about that, that's a great idea. Why don't we do that? That we take the people
who work at Chez Panisse out to the farm. You know, there was a story in the New York
Times a couple of weeks ago, and they were talking about Kim Severson in the food section,
was talking about how people, very wealthy people who are now going back to have a farm
vacation with their family. Almost as if, it's a quaint little thing like Marie Antoinette
going out to the, you know, they have her little pastoral experience. But, in fact,
you know, I had little; I was upset with Kim with the way she wrote it because that's exactly
what we need to do, is sort of come back to our senses. I don't think there's anybody
here that wouldn't be slightly curious to milk a cow. How many people in this room have
milked a cow? Oh, that's good, you're already saved; you've milked a cow. This, how many
people have killed a chicken? Ah, this is very unlikely. I don't think you could do
this any other place. Seriously, this is very, very good because it is knowing about that
experience so that you can identify with it. I went one time down to the Chino Ranch in
Southern California and they--we were picking beans, those little straight, little string
beans and the tiny little things they were bringing out to their farm stand. And, I just
couldn't believe it. It was the hardest work I have ever done. I was out there and just
dripping with perspiration, my back hurt in five minutes, and I just--how can they do
this and send Chez Panisse a box this big of little aricover (ph). I mean, who's doing
this work? I mean, you couldn't pay me enough to do the work. I just, it was too hard for
me to do this. And so, that's the other piece that we have to really contemplate is--and
slow food calls this the fair part that we have to pay people the real price of the work--for
the work that they do. And, if we don't empathize with the people that are doing that work,
we can appreciate it. We have been indoctrinated in the way of fast food, and we've learned
fast food values which tell us not to care about where our food comes from, and not to
care about the people who produce it; it magically happens. Resources are infinite. They should
be opened--food stores should be opened 24 hours a day. There's no season, it doesn't
matter. You can eat by yourself, you can eat in five minutes, and it's those values that
are changing the world because that's how they think about everything. They, meaning
people who are not eating consciously are--those values just come in osmosis as you grab your
lunch. You just think about entertainment that way. I just want the best bits, you know,
I just want to have those. I don't, I don't have the time to really listen to the whole
lecture. I just like the clip notes, but it's--what we're getting is kind of the clip notes on
our life. We're not living our lives and that's the sad part is that--that it does take time
to go to the farmer's market, just take time but it's such a rewarding experience, I can't
tell you and every time you find something that you don't know about now. I've never
seen these before, perhaps, I have because--because it looks like it's attached to the kohlrabi
but I'm not sure because we don't have use kohlrabi at the restaurant, we haven't and
all of a sudden, it's without that and I'm a little--I'm delighted by the color of it.
I just, you know, it just goes so beautifully with these eggplants. They're so fantastic
and the little vericated eggplant as well and then you get maroon okra and if you had
okra everyday or kohlrabi greens, I'm not sure, has anybody cooked kohlrabi greens?
Yes, tell me how do you cook them--you steamed them--beautiful, no garlic but that's a--what?
I like this--this is beautiful, he just steams them, do you put it in olive oil or [INDISTINCT]
yeah, at the end, but just steaming greens when they're incredibly tasty--that's what
is best, just slicing a tomato. Now, but we have lost all of our confidence in being able
to cook and we think that really cooking is about complication in a way that we really
admire the people who do fancy French cooking, the best selling cook book in the United States
is Thomas Keller, you know, and except for Julia Child's had a big comeback but Thomas
Keller and I think and you know, who is cooking that very complicated food? I can't cook that
way, you know, I'm just don't know how and yet at the same time, we're not engaging in
the very simplest way of eating, we're not just finding the ingredient and allowing it
to speak for itself. There was a whole time at Chez Panisse when the French would come
over and they'd hear about Chez Panisse and they'd come and they'd just see, you know,
what would maybe, you know, cucumber salad and with some of these little beautiful cucumbers
and they say to me, "Ooh," you know that's not cooking, that's shopping, that's not cooking,
that's shopping. And the great thing is now they come back and they say, "Oh, it is about
shopping," and you know and Daniel Bullock [ph] in New York is one of the greatest proponents
of local organic, finding the rare breeds of the animals and they know so much about
this because they had a gastronomic or they still do have a culture that understands Gastronomy
but very sadly, we allowed the sort of melting pot of America to just stir it all up there
and now, we don't know anything as a culture about where our food comes from, how it is
grown? What it's supposed to taste like? What it could taste like? And it's the reason that
I believe that we need to go back to school. We need to educate ourselves as a nation and
the best way in my mind is to bring little children into it, you know, start in kindergarten,
start in preschool. I used to teach Montessori, it was all about, you know, smelling. This
has a good smell. And this is a lemon cucumber but I've never sort of put my nose to a cucumber
before in that way. But this is something that we used to do with the kids, we used
to put a bag of vegetables out and they'd have to reach in this bag and guess what the
vegetables were and so they just have to touch them. We had little exercises that--where
they have to match the smells in little cylinders--what is that? Is that cumin or is that, you know,
coffee or is that, no we can't use coffee in it. That we put in, you know, things pepper
and things that, herbs that were highly scented and they had to match them up and this was
what I could--what Montessori called as sensual education. To look at the colors or the little
gradations of greens. It's a way and these little beautiful ones are, maybe you've seen
this, the two colored ones and you kind of wonder what's inside? Is it--is it really
going to be green all the way through? And then you open that up but these are the surprises
that the kids, you know, when they have a class out in the garden and it's not a gardening
class, it's a Math class or it's a Science class but when they're out there in the garden
measuring the beds or figuring out about a worm box or the drainage for the garden. They're
eating the raspberries. They're, you know, picking some of the greens for a salad in
the kitchen or they're biting into an Asian pear and they're planting seeds. So, it's
just coming in, just like the osmosis experience of being in a fast-food joint, it affects
you or it deadens you, let's put it that way, that's what's happening, I think when you
eat like that and this experience in the garden is awakening the kids. They're just feeling
that. They come into the room in the kitchen and I went in there yesterday, just to show
my daughter around, we're walking through the garden in the morning, we walked into
the kitchen and they were making pesto and the whole kitchen smells like garlic and basil
and all these kids were pounding in their mortars and pestles and I just thought this
is fantastic, I mean you don't even--you just feel good in that kitchen, you don't know
what's happening, you just feel good and I should have roasted some garlic for you this
afternoon because I wanted that, that kind of--you just responding with your nose as
well as your eyes and it is touching this, that is so delightful for me. I'm just--when
I go to the farmer's market again, I just grab my basket, I take my--this is my basket
and I just--I can't get enough, I mean I fill this, I never believe in taking more than
I can carry in my basket or if I have a couple of [INDISTINCT] with me, I'd laid them down
but I'm trying to take home what I carry, what I can carry and I just, you know, but
it's--it is that kind of experience of falling in love and that's what we're trying to create
because for children, is a caring experience, so we put a table cloth on the table and we
get them to go out and pick something for his centerpiece and they just--they'd find
all kinds of things, they may just find a whole bunch of these peppers and put them
down on the center of the table. Some of the kids pick some flowers in the garden or maybe
it's a little bouquet of kohlrabi but it's whatever they want and they're responding
not just to the food but it's the care that's comes with food, that's what's happening and
it's very seductive, that because they don't have that at home, that kind of attention,
everybody is--one in two families is working, I mean, not one in every two families but
what I really want to say was one in every two people in this country is divorced, okay?
So, just think about that. Both families are working and so what happens to the kids, where
do they go? Who's taking care of them? And it's the reason that we need to have a program
in the school that feeds all children for free, they don't have to pay for it, it's
all part of a core curriculum in Ecology and Gastronomy so that's the big vision. I call
it "The Delicious Revolution," by the way. It isn't just any old revolution because this
isn't about having to study really hard, you know, have that little red book. This is about
something else, this is opening yourself up, and it all comes in because we have--our DNA
is programmed. It's already in our computer. So, all you have to do is touch it. And it
comes right back. This isn't anything new; people have been eating like this since the
beginning of time. Picking what's local, saving the food that is, you know, in abundance at
a certain time for the winter months, selling them in the market place, eating with family
and friends, saving seeds because they're precious, thinking of food as something that
is absolutely, what would I say, absolutely, the center of one's life. It is not to say
that it has to take for a long time, it just has to be--it's what we're all made off and
we need to pay attention in that way and it's been that way, as I said since the beginning
of time, it's only this huge interruption that happened after the war 50 years ago.
That is the kind of a western way of eating, this way that is so connected to consumerism.
And the idea that people would really make a lot of money of selling somebody something
that wasn't good for him. And so we're in a pretty impossible place and I'm hoping you
can help us get out of it, that's my hope and I'd loved to answer some questions, anybody
have any questions about this beautiful watermelon. I hated watermelon.
>> Please go up to the microphones to ask Alice about your questions so that people
at YouTube can hear. >> Hi, thanks for coming. What kind of fertilizer
do you use in the gardens that you have? >>WATERS: Let me just tell you that, I don't
do the gardening for Chez Panisse but I can tell you that the kind of compost that Bob
Kennar uses is on his produce, comes from an incredibly rich mix of Chez Panisse compost.
So we put it everyday into these bins and we take it up to Bob Kennar and bring the
vegetables back. Now I know he uses everything from oyster shells, he makes his own little,
I don't know what you would call it, you have to go up there and see him, he's got his own
special blend. But in my backyard, I have a little compost bucket that I keep on the
counter at all times, I only put in vegetable waste and I have the most amazing little small
vegetable garden. Yes? >> Hi. Thank you for coming. So, my question
is regarding making healthy local food accessible to the population, so this is related to poverty.
And so, how do we make it so for people in lower income levels are able to afford, I
mean, right access is just one part of it but then, how do we lower the costs so it's
accessible? And I guess there was one story that I heard about the other day on MPR and
maybe you'd care to comment, so, one idea was being thrown around that, you know, we
could take food stamps change the food stamp program somehow, so people could bring their
food stamps to local Farmers Markets. >>WATERS: That's happening.
>> Yeah, so, I was just wondering if you have any thoughts on that topic.
>>WATERS: Well, I have lots of thoughts on this topic, but, just to say that in New York,
they're doing another little variation on that that's wonderful, because when there
the food stamps exchange, it still is more expensive, of course, to buy in the Farmers
Market. So, they decided that when people exchange them in the framers market, a $5
food stamp would be worth $8 in the market, and I think it's a brilliant little variation.
But, we're never going to pay less for food, unless, I mean, unless the government decides
to subsidize all organic food. But that could happen, but I see that there's even the ultimate
way to do this. It's my own stimulus program. Now we can talk about billions. So, I would
put the money into schools to feed every child at school, a breakfast, a lunch and an afternoon
snack. And then I would give, which would give money right back to the parents and the
families because they would know that the children were eating well, and that would
help, that would be money in their pockets. And then I would make a criteria for the buying
of the food in the schools. So that people purchase the majority of food from local sustainable
people which would stimulate the economy locally and if they, if the stipulation was to buy
all of their products from local and sustainable people, just imagine what could happen, paper
plates, we're talking about everything. But Chez Panisse has served 500 people a day.
We support maybe 85 farms, two farms in a major way totally, but you know all of these
other people during the course of the year. Berkley has 10,000 children in school. So,
just imagine what would happen if you made that commitment to fund the schools in that
way? We would institute a program that came with a school lunch that educated all the
children about stewardship of the land, how to feed themselves, how to have a conversation
at the table, you know, we don't know about this. This is the sort of the building of
a world community. And I see that the most extraordinary information is being passed
around right now, from the whole slow food movement globally in a 151 countries. I see
that the bio diversity of this planet is helping people everywhere to figure out how, what
they can grow and how they can eat it in a delicious and nourishing way. And so, that
is this internet that I'm just and I am nearly illiterate in this--on this front, I do have
accent and I love taking pictures of all this beautiful. I do do that. But I love the way
we're able to communicate about this, and it's a beautiful thing. I didn't answer your
question, but I don't want to--I don't want to pay less, I don't want to pay less for
my food, I want to pay more because I know what it means to do that work. Yes?
>> As a relatively recent Farmers Market addict, I'd like to add my voice in thanks, I'm also
wondering how you weigh in on this debate over whether the mainstreaming of organic
as per the California state definition--the mainstreaming of organic food in grocery stores,
whether that is actually helping or hurting the sustainable local market, not market just
the nature of sustainable local food. >>WATERS: When we're uneducated about it,
we end up in that place, I can get that over at Whole Foods and it'd cost less than at
the Union Square Farmers Market, you know. That's what you're weighing against and you
have to really make that kind of commitment. I think to the farmers that you get to know,
that's what I love about being in that Farmers Market. It's not to say that there isn't sort
of a general education going on through supermarkets that sell organic food. But they aren't reaching
us--they're teaching, for me, it's selling slow food in fast food packages. I want slow
food, and I don't mean slow in preparation because I can make a meal in 10 minutes, I'm
not talking about that, I'm talking about the beauty and connection pieces that are
missing at that big market place. >> Thank you.
>> Hi. I recently heard--I think it was Michael Pollins (ph) say that he thought one of the
most profound things that the Obama Administration has done so far was having Michelle Obama
plant a garden and I was wondering if this is a time when you might actually have the
ear of the White House for some of these ideas that you have?
>>WATERS: Well, I'll try my very best. And anybody who knows those right people would
just need to spread this word around. But tomorrow, a Farmers Market is opening up one
block away from the White House. And the young chef who's in the White House, who's feeding
the Obamas is somebody very dedicated to edible education and I know he's doing everything
he can do right now to bring these ideas right there to the table. I think it was remarkable
that Michelle Obama just put that shovel in the ground. I mean, it was really a great,
great moment in my life. To see children, right there, and we got to learn where food
really comes from. It's beautiful. And he's got beehive. If you can imagine, he's got
a bee, I've seen he's got a compost system that runs at 160 degrees. Can you imagine
right there in the White House lawn. And nobody said a thing. Nobody said a thing, well, why
wasn't somebody protesting that? Yes? >> So, a lot of fairly serious questions.
>> WATERS: Oh, yes. >> And a slightly lighter one. You mentioned
when you're talking about sort of problem with the existing food system, you know, we
are on those fast food ultra-convenient on-the-go food, not really thinking about it, cheap,
and then you throw in 24 hours and I really love Farmers Markets, I especially love the
Alemany Farmers Market in San Francisco, but my natural sleep schedule, if I really had
a choice, is about waking up at 11 and going to sleep at about three.
>> WATERS: Ooh. >> What are all the serious food movement
people have against me? >> WATERS: You know, you have to move to move
to Bolinas. They have a 24 hour Farmers Market stand. And it's the best. It's just the best--you
can't believe it. You just get to weigh your vegetables and put your money in the box.
I just love a 24-hour farm stand. And all this trust and that's--I think we—you know,
I'm not somebody who stays up until three in the morning anymore, I used to be, when
I was working at the restaurant, but I think we do need to, you know, make food more, real
food available to people. And there's nothing wrong with having a lovely little pizza. I
just want to know where the flour for the dough came, I want to know where did the cheese
came from. Who made the cheese? I want to know who grew the oregano, I want to know
how it was processed, I want to know the details of the providence. And that's what I care
about. I care about how it tastes, too. But I really care about where it comes from. And
it could be a hotdog. You know, but it's about the bun and the mustard and the catsup. And
where is that meat from? Where is that meat from? Yes?
>> I love going to the Farmers Market too and just buying whatever looks interesting
or smells interesting or whatever farmers seem particularly inspired about whatever
it is they're selling on that day, they tell you, "This is the thing to get today." I'll
get it so, you must've done something like that with that stuff that it's front of you
right now. If you had 10 minutes to make a meal, right now out of that, what would you
be making? >> WATERS: What would I make? Ooh, that's
a very… >> But assuming you had a kitchen.
>> WATERS: Well, I know I would use these. I would use these. I'd put a pot of water,
***, on the stove, I have a steamer. These are Tokyo turnips, I take the little tops
off, I'd probably take this off, take this off, leave the top, I'd cut it in four or
six if I wanted, maybe cook it a little bit longer. And I cut them in half, just when
they're nearly cooked, I'd throw in the greens and I may rip them up a little bit and throw
in the greens, I think that's about five minutes, I think I'd probably make myself a little
salad with some greens, slice some tomatoes, slice it a few cucumbers, very quickly while
my turnips were cooking. You know, if I—-now, I see these guys, I could cook these, I can
steam these or I can do a really fast sauté with garlic, some olive oil, these little
tiny cauliflower and broccoli that's there. And these are—-I've never seen any this
small, these little baby cabbages. Now, I think they're probably from the last crop,
and they just cut the ones that weren't going to have time to get bigger and they're on
the next crop of cabbages. Oh, and I have a little corn. And I take it off the cob,
or just throw the corn into the pot. Take it out and eat it, and some watermelon for
dessert. And I don't have a lemon here but that's probably what I do, I might just throw
these in the steamer as well. Or boiling water and cut them in half, length-wise. If I had
my little knife here, which I don't have, we'd see whether it was green on the top,
and I'm somehow missing herbs. They must be in the big box in the back. But I always use
herbs. Whether it's, you know, I have lots of things that are growing up every color,
every kind, every shape. Because one meal, I make an orange salad with purple things.
And the next day, I may want a red salad up with these early growth, with little tiny
green basil. And you could eat tomato salad every single day of this beautiful month of
tomatoes and never get tired of them. Ever, because it's just and then the third day,
I'm eating every color all mixed together. Just goes on like that. Yes?
>> Thanks for coming. So, you talked a little bit about the uniting experience of food and
what a family shares, I wanted to know if you could share one of your poignant food
memories. >> WATERS: Well, one comes to mind. I have
lots in France. Lots and lots and maybe the one that is recurring the most is one with
a winery in the south of France, it's called Domaine Tempier. And the woman who's the proprietress
just had her 90th birthday. And she's very short; she was kind of my size. And she cooks
some bouillabaisse. And her whole family helps to prepare, the fire, she gets the big branches
from the, you know, the vines that are pruned every spring and the old vines—-oh, you
have to pass out some food for them to eat. Oh, God, yes, for them, please. I forgot to
feed you. How could I have forgotten that? Oh, my goodness. Well, these are some figs
and some peaches. That I thought were ripe and nice, so, just grab a piece as you go.
But anyway, she has a huge copper cauldron. And they—-we'd go down to the market place
and she has her fishermen and they bring in all these little tiny fish, and she makes
it right there over the big roaring fire. And we sit at the table that's probably twice
as long as this table and we eat the fish first with [INDISTINCT]. And then we have
this bouillon that is just served down the table and lots of Rosé wine. And then she
always has some beautiful goat cheeses for dessert. But that's kind of a recurring beautiful
moment in my life. In my dream life. Anybody else have anything burning? How many cooks
work at shifts-—oh, I have something really burning. Okay, I do, thank you, all right.
I printed this manifesto of slow food out. Everybody was saying, we'll just send it.
Send it in an email to everybody here. But I just decided that I wanted to you to put
it on your wall and look at it—-or use it as a place mat. I didn't want you to have
it on a screen, in a little screen. Or even a bigger screen, I wanted you to hold it.
And read what Carlo Bettrini (ph) said when he started the slow food movement in Italy
about 20-25 years ago in the Piaza de Spana. He protested a McDonald's coming into the
square. And he sat down on a big old table with all of his friends and they ate pasta
and drank wine. And they dreamed this up. And I think it says everything eloquently,
I really believe them. So, I hope you will take it all to heart and the last sentence
here says, "Slow food is an idea, it needs plenty of qualified supporters who can help
turn this slow motion into an international movement," with a little snail as its symbol.
And that's what I'm hoping you all can do. So, thank you so much for coming.