One of the reasons I look forward to Fridays in general is that they herald the upcoming weekend, and also because Bill Maher is on HBO at 10 PM. I recorded his last show and finally got time to sit down to watch it a few days ago. His second guest of the night was Chef & Restaurateur Alice Waters.
While I have been around many, many chefs during my lifetime, there are some who catch my attention with their boisterous personalities, kitchen tricks and other look-at-me attitudes. Chefs have big egos, whether they show them or not. As soon as Alice Waters sat down I was taken with her soft voice. Her subtle air of command captured both my and Bill’s attention. I could tell by his body language and excited voice that he was very pleased she was sitting across the table from him.
I love her demeanor, her self-possessed assurance that every word she spoke would sink in and be heard. She also has such a delightfully feminine way of speaking with her hands, embellishing and emphasizing her poetic, yet determined stand against the poor nutrition of our children. Even though she appeared gracefully relaxed, she wears her dignity as would a noblewoman of old, and we her audience, were hooked as fish in a fisherman’s net.
There are certain people I like on the spot, and many of whom I would enjoy sitting down to eat a meal and enjoy conversation with, over candles burning low in their holders. Alice and Bill are two of these people and I could tell they felt the same way that night. Bill was lit up like a sparkler. Because of his interest I didn’t take my eyes off the television screen. I learned a lot about this woman. She is determined to help bring about this revolution against poor nutrition and obesity in our school children.
This icon has won so many awards over the last two decades. She has been a pioneer in supporting her community and farmers by purchasing locally grown organic foods, supporting the farmers, eating properly and in doing so, reducing her carbon footprint. She journeyed to France when she was nineteen and learned about the simplicity of natural foods. Slow Food is a phrase she coined and when Bill leaned in to inquire about it, she replied it is the opposite of fast food.
Both Alice and Bill grew up in New Jersey. They touched on this fact by mentioning all of the farms that once were there. Bill quipped in the motto: “New Jersey The Garden State”, but where are all of the farms now they wondered aloud.
Bill Maher usually holds the majority of the audience’s attention while interviewing his guests, but Alice outshone him without ever trying to do so. She is on a mission and the truth of her goal is something every American should hear. She wants to feed every school child a slow food breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack everyday. Plus she wants it to be free, no charge. She pointed out that the children need to experience the goodness of fresh food, and for parents to stop feeding them food with little or no nutritive value. To this end she has written a book just for school children and its title is “The Edible Schoolyard“. For the adults she has written “The Green Kitchen”, where she teaches that all of us can get back to the basics of good sound nutrition.
There is something really very special about this lady and the message she is sending is quite clear. Do something positive to eat real food, support your local farmers and buy direct, or in your grocer’s organic food section. Bill asked “Do you remember when you would bite into a peach and it was plump and fruity and full of flavor? Take tomatoes … they don’t taste like they did when we were growing up. Well nowadays, whenever I try a pretty peach I have to throw it away after tasting one bite.” I’m really with him on this point! I sat there nodding my head up and down in agreement. 
I could tell the interview was getting ready to come to an end and besides all of Alice Waters’ awards up to this point, there is one which by now, she may have already been presented. It is the French Legion Of Honor Award. It is one of the highest awards anyone can ever receive. Her vision of our school children’s future in their attitudes toward food is a grand one, but very realistic and achievable. She is lovely and someone I really want to meet. Alice Waters is entirely fashionable and trendy, and romantically … The Lady Robin Hood of today.
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- Celebrity cooks are leading the charge for healthier food (pbpulse.com)
- Alice Waters – Edible Schoolyard Takedown in the ‘Atlantic Monthly’: Wrong, Wrong, Wrong (definitiveink.typepad.com)
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Source: Theresa H Hall
