Alice Waters and the Trip to Delicious - (Food Heroes) by Jacqueline Briggs Martin (Hardcover)

About the Book

Chef Alice Waters takes her friends on a tour of healthy eating.

Book Synopsis

Chef Alice Waters has always been friends with food.
The search for good food led Alice Waters to France, and then back to Berkeley, California, where she started Chez Panisse restaurant and the Edible Schoolyard. For Alice, a delicious meal does not start in the kitchen, but in the fields with good soil and caring farmers.

Jacqueline Briggs Martin, author of the Caldecott winner, Snowflake Bentley, teams up with Hayelin Choi, making her illustration debut, to show how one child's search for delicious led to a dream for all children to share the joy of tasty food--the same joy we get from a beautiful song, or a starry sky.

Alice Waters and the Trip to Delicious is the second of the author's Food Heroes series on people who changed what and how we eat, after the award-winning Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table.

Alice Waters founded Chez Panisse restaurant in 1971 and the Edible Schoolyard in 1995. She won the James Beard Award for Best Chef in 1992 and Chez Panisse was named the Best Restaurant in America by Gourmet in 2001. Time magazine named her among "100 Most Influential People in the World" in 2014.

From the Back Cover

Chef Alice Waters has always been friends with food.
The search for good food led Alice Waters to France, and then back home to Berkeley, California, where she started Chez Panisse restaurant and the Edible Schoolyard. For Alice, a delicious meal does not start in the kitchen, but in the fields with good soil and caring farmers.
Jacqueline Briggs Martin, author of the Caldecott winner, Snowflake Bentley, and Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table, tells how one child's search for delicious led to a dream for all children to share the joy of tasty food--the same joy we get from a beautiful song, or a starry sky.

Review Quotes

- "CCBC Choices"--Cooperative Children's Book Center
- "Book of Distinction"--Association of Children's Librarians of Northern California

"A fine introduction to...nutrition, healthy eating, and creative people making positive change."
--"Starred" Review, School Library Journal

"An inspiring, tasty story."
--Booklist

"[A] lively biography... chronicling the life of one contemporary foodie who has worked to make a difference in children's nutritional lives... The art greatly enhances the text, with its varied multitude of cheerful people growing, preparing and enjoying food, as well as the use of different framing techniques and vantage points... An obvious choice in communities that have active Edible Schoolyards, it may spark some interest in communities that do not--yet."
--Kirkus Reviews

"[An] adoring tribute... 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."
--Publishers Weekly

"Alice Waters and the Trip to Delicious is an engaging and delightful read... But beyond simply telling a great story, the book reminds us that what we read to our children has a lasting effect-shouldn't we use that opportunity to deliver a strong message?"
--Civil Eats

"Spirited multimedia art captures an extraordinary life devoted to good food and good friends and, lest we forget, the trinity of California cuisine: organic, local and in season. Waters is a pioneer -- a female chef, award-winning restaurateur and crusader for farm-to-table eating, even in the cafeteria."
--San Francisco Chronicle

"This beautiful story not only captures the evolution of Water's work at the Edible Schoolyard, but also communicates the very real focus of her message to young people: "You are important, you deserve to be well-nourished and fed." This book utilizes whimsy of words and illustration to makes the legacy of Alice Water's accessible to readers of any age. "
--Kyle Cornforth, Director, Edible Schoolyard Berkeley

"This book will inspire a generation of children to understand the importance of healthy food, healthy soil and healthy people and that they pass that education on to their own children."
--Chef Ann Cooper, Director, Nutrition Services Boulder Valley School District; Founder, Food Family Farming Foundation

"This is a picture book biography that will inspire young readers to grow, eat, and discover their own trip to delicious... Martin explains in simple terms what the goals of Waters are, but she also manages to inspire and let the ideas soar upwards on the page... Choi's art has a great feel to it with a mix of bright colors and a strong organic feel that is entirely appropriate to Waters... A dynamic and delicious look at the life of Alice Waters, filled with all of the mouth-watering moments of her life."
--Waking Brain Cells blog

"This is a book profiles an important figure in American women's history; the book is sure to be of interest to young foodies, and may inspire some to become involved with growing their own food as well or starting Edible Schoolyard programs in their community."
--Kidlit Blog

AFTERWORD by Alice Waters:

Dear Reader and Eater,

I hope you have liked hearing my story! Here are some things I have learned about food and cooking from my time at Chez Panisse and the Edible Schoolyard--and from my daughter Fanny:

1) Grow your own food. If you grow it and cook it yourself, you're going to want to eat it--even kale!
2) Taste and taste again. Who knows what you are going to like? Always have a taste of everything--and remember that ripeness is all! You never forget the taste of a perfectly ripe peach.
3) Always eat in season. I promise you that those supermarket tomatoes in the middle of winter are not going to taste good! You don't want to eat the same second-rate foods all year round that aren't delicious--you want to wait for the juicy tomatoes and sweet corn in the heat of summer. They will be all the better for your wait.
4) If your plate is too full, it is hard to taste. If something is truly delicious, you don't need to eat so much to be satisfied. It's when things don't have flavor that you eat more and more and more, searching for flavor that isn't there.
5) Cook with your friends! You can talk about things when you're shelling fresh peas or washing lettuce, and will have so much fun making food together. When you come together at the table and share a meal, you never know what you are going to learn.

I can't wait to see you all in the garden and the kitchen!

With hopefulness,
Alice Waters


"Alice Waters has always
been friends with food.
When she was three years old
she wore food --
a lettuce leaf skirt, radish bracelets,
a necklace of strawberries and a crown of asparagus --
and won first prize in a costume contest.

Little Alice was also looking for Delicious.
And she found it
in fresh green beans
and just-picked blueberries."

-- from the book

About the Author

Jacqueline Briggs Martin is the author of Snowflake Bentley, winner of the 1999 Caldecott Medal. Her last book, Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table, was named among the Best Nonfiction Books 2013 by School Library Journal and received a starred review from School Library Journal and Booklist. She has taught creative writing at Hamline College and University of Iowa Summer Writing Festival. She grew up on a farm in Maine and now lives in Mt. Vernon, IA. Learn more about Jacqueline at jacquelinebriggsmartin.com.

Hayelin Choi Hayelin Choi is an illustrator and textile designer. This is her first picture book. She is a graduate of School of Visual Arts and lives in Queens, New York. Learn more about Hayelin at hayelinchoi.com.

Alice Waters founded Chez Panisse restaurant in 1971 and the Edible Schoolyard in 1995. She won the James Beard Award for Best Chef in 1992 and Chez Panisse was named the Best Restaurant in America by Gourmet in 2001. Time magazine named her among "100 Most Influential People in the World" in 2014.