Alice Waters and the Trip to Delicious

Alice Waters, owner of the restaurant Chez Panisse, is an American chef who is known for creating the "slow food" movement--which promotes the benefits of healthy, organic food to ordinary people. Narrator Laura Hamilton portrays her in a voice that sounds eager and child-friendly. She sounds keenly engaged with Alice's travels, her love of enjoying fresh, delicious food with friends, and her desire to share that experience at home in the U.S. Hamilton sets a steady pace and pauses for emphasis, bring scenes alive as Alice tastes radishes while visiting a farm and introduces schoolchildren to a freshly grown meal. The production concludes with an afterword by Waters and note from the author. A.R. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine

September 1, 2014
This adoring tribute to chef Alice Waters begins with a three-year-old Alice dressing in “a lettuce-leaf skirt, radish bracelets, a necklace of strawberries, a crown of asparagus,” and winning a costume contest. Bringing the lessons she learns about food home from her world travels, Waters shares meals with friends before opening her restaurant, Chez Panisse, and pioneering the Edible Schoolyard Project. Martin describes how Waters seeks out ingredients with integrity: “The delicious meals she wanted to serve to her customers began not in the kitchen but in the field, with good soil and thoughtful farmers.” Debut artist Choi fills the pages with cheerful scenes of smiling, multicultural children preparing and enjoying food; Waters herself contributes an afterword. Ages 5–up. Author’s agent: Michelle Humphrey, Martha Kaplan Literary Agency.