I don’t think it ever works to tell people what they can’t eat. They can do it for so long, and then they fall off. You have to bring them into a new relationship with food. – Alice Waters
I think if you buy from people who are taking care of the land, you’re supporting the future of this country. – Alice Waters
I have been talking nonstop about the symbolism of an edible landscape at the White House. I think it says everything about stewardship of the land and about the nourishment of a nation. – Alice Waters
A whole set of values comes with fast food: Everything should be fast, cheap and easy; there’s always more where that came from; there are no seasons; you shouldn’t be paid very much for preparing food. It’s uniformity and a lack of connection. – Alice Waters
I can remember the three restaurant experiences of my childhood. All I wanted to do on my birthday was to go to the Automat in New York… but I don’t know if you consider that a real restaurant. – Alice Waters
We all need to know how to cook. I can buy a chicken and have many meals come from it. Is it affordable? Yes. Cheap? No. I want to pay the farmers the right price for food. They deserve it. They are the most important people in the country besides our teachers. – Alice Waters
I used to think that I wanted to be a hat maker, but I don’t think that would have worked out. – Alice Waters
Food should be cheap, and labor should be cheap, and everything should be the same no matter where you go; whether it’s a McDonald’s in Germany or one in California, it should be the same. And this message is destroying cultures around the world. Needless to say, agriculture goes with it. – Alice Waters
Create a garden; bring children to farms for field trips. I think it’s important that parents and teachers get together to do one or two things they can accomplish well – a teaching garden, connecting with farms nearby, weave food into the curriculum. – Alice Waters
My kitchen has a wood-burning oven, a large worktable, and windows all around, including one above the sink. I think whoever is washing the dishes needs to have a lot of beauty around. – Alice Waters
When you don’t have much money, cooking can be incredibly reassuring. You feel like you’re doing meaningful work. – Alice Waters
I love those tiny little onions in the spring that are so small they’re almost like a little chive. – Alice Waters
First, kids should be involved in the production of their own food. They have to get their hands in the dirt, they have to grow things. They also have to become sensually stimulated, and the way to begin is with a bakery. – Alice Waters
Hard-boiled eggs are wonderful when they’re really done right. I bring the water to a boil, and then I put in the eggs. And then I boil them for – well, it depends on the size of the egg – maybe eight minutes. – Alice Waters
English food writer Elizabeth David, cook and author Richard Olney and the owner of Domaine Tempier Lulu Peyraud have all really inspired the way I think about food. – Alice Waters
I came to all the realizations about sustainability and biodiversity because I fell in love with the way food tastes. That was it. And because I was looking for that taste I feel at the doorsteps of the organic, local, sustainable farmers, dairy people and fisherman. – Alice Waters
I used to do calligraphy, and I’m afraid that has lapsed, but I’ve always been interested in book printing. – Alice Waters
I really appreciate the many neighbourhoods of Berkeley. There is still the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker. And it has the University of California, which is the greatest gift, to my mind, to be close to it. It keeps the place alive. – Alice Waters
The act of eating is very political. You buy from the right people, you support the right network of farmers and suppliers who care about the land and what they put in the food. – Alice Waters
I’m focused on the next generation, because I think it’s very hard to break the habit of adults who’ve got salt and sugar addictions and just ways of being in this world. It’s very hard even for the most enlightened people at famous universities that are very wealthy to spend the money that it takes to feed the students something delicious. – Alice Waters
I don’t want food that comes from animals that are caged up and fed antibiotics. I am really suspicious of that kind of production of meat and poultry. – Alice Waters
I am disappointed because nobody is talking about food and agriculture. They’re talking about the diets of children, but they’re talking about Band-Aids. We’re not seeing a vision. – Alice Waters
