Although California had little French immigration, French cuisine greatly influenced California cookery. M. F. K. Fisher and Julia Child, Californians who went on to join the ranks of America’s most prominent culinary authors, both studied in France. In the 1970s, San Francisco, already an important restaurant town, became the capital of French-inspired California cuisine. In 1971Alice Waters launched her restaurant Chez Panisse in a Victorian brownstone in Berkeley. Like Fisher and Child, Waters had spent time in France, and at first she served simple French food with a particular emphasis on the traditions of Provence. As time went on, she began experimenting with local ingredients. She changed her menu daily, focusing on the freshest and best seasonal ingredients; her preparations flattered the food without overwhelming it. Gourmet magazine discovered Chez Panisse in October 1975, and subsequently James Beard and many other food writers wrote about Alice Waters, raising Chez Panisse to national prominence.
