Coming to My Senses: The Making of a Counterculture Cook by Alice Waters

Coming to My Senses: The Making of a Counterculture Cook Reviews

• 
  Ally

  I desperately wanted to like this book. I'm a huge fan of Alice Waters, her restaurant Chez Panisse, and the work that she has done with transforming the food culture in American. When the author was growing up, her family ate mostly convenience foods - mashed potato flakes, boxed cake mixes, etc. It wasn't until she spent a year abroad in France that she began to understand about flavor, freshness, and what it means to be thoughtful and intentional about your eating. She wanted to bring that experience back to her life in the US, so she opened her little french restaurant, Chez Panisse in 1971.
  
  From the very beginning, there was a set menu that all diners were given. It changed daily (nowadays, weekly), based on what protein, fruits, and veggies are freshest. Because they tend to have more flavor and nutrients, the priority is for locally and organically-grown foodstuffs, shunning the factory-farms. Chez Panisse was really the beginning of the farm-to-table concept of dining, thus playing a massive role in revolutionizing the way Americans eat.
  
  I, too, grew up with a family of non-cooks, so there were lots of "instant" and "pre-made" foods in the pantry. It wasn't until I was living on my own, after college, that I really paid attention to what I was eating and where it came from. This inspired me to learn to cook, and through which I discovered the Chez Panisse cookbooks. I've always identified with Alice, because of our similar food history, and considered her one of my greatest inspirations. I have first editions of all of her cookbooks (a few are signed), the restaurant's 40th anniversary commemorative book, a publishsed collection of beautifully designed menus, and the biography ALICE WATERS AND CHEZ PANISSE by Thomas McNamee. You could say that I'm a bit obsessed, which is why I was so excited to learn that she was releasing her memoir, COMING TO MY SENSES: THE MAKING OF A COUNTERCULTURE COOK. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations.
  
  The story begins with Alice's parents, giving insight into their families, personalities, and relationships. Alice goes on to share a few pictures, anecdotes, and personal opinions about the culture and politics at play in her upbringing, as well as her relationship with her sisters, and memorable experiences that she had as a child. You follow her as she comes-of-age, explores romantic relationships, gets involved in politics and activism, and has her great food awakening - a movement that becomes a driving force in every aspect of her life. Much of this was covered in Thomas McNamee's book, but it was interesting to hear about it from Alice directly.
  
  In fact, one of the most interesting parts of the book was not so much the material, but the way it was written. The authorial voice comes across exactly as if you sat with Alice for an afternoon and she told you her life story. Alice is famously a very passionate and opinionated person, idealistic, and a consummate snob - all of those qualities come through loud and clear in her writing. This isn't a negative comment on the book, it just speaks to the authenticity of the author. It may be off-putting to some readers, but I didn't mind it.
  
  What really detracted from my enjoyment of COMING TO MY SENSES were its confusing organizational structure and its surface-level writing. I felt as though this book could have benefited greatly from a thesis statement. What exactly was the author trying to convey - her life story? The story of her restaurant's inception? Everything felt a bit muddled. In fact, the amount of odd details that the author shares, such as about the Berkeley clothing store owner who dressed Alice in the early days of Chez Panisse and then went on to become a Hollywood costume designer, were confusing and extraneous. It was sometimes difficult to surmise exactly the point that the author was trying to make.
  
  The book is marketed as a memoir, which I found to be incredibly misleading. When I sit down with a memoir, I expect to be drawn into certain key moments from the author's life, and follow her through her reflections on those moments, analyzing and making deep meaning of them and how they have impacted her. What you find on the pages of COMING TO MY SENSES is an autobiography, and a surface-level one at that. There are brief moments where Alice goes into detail and analysis about things that are happening, but the vast majority of the book is "telling" the reader about her life rather than "showing"...almost a play-by-play but without any commentary. For someone who is so sophisticated about so many things, I was truly disappointed by the simplistic way in which she wrote this book.
  
  For those who are interested in Alice Waters and her food awakening, there is a lot to like about her most recent book. You'll learn about her early years in New Jersey and Michigan, her involvement in campus protests and political activism in the San Francisco area, and her formative experiences with food and cooking. Her personality comes through clearly in her authorial voice, but there is a disconnect between that voice and the actual content of the book. To find a way to meld that voice and personality with some more focused, detailed, and in-depth reflections would be to make COMING TO MY SENSES a much more powerful and engaging story.
• 
  Brandon Gaukel

  I love this woman. This book is exactly what I want to read this week, I started it on a flight from Hawaii and just finished two days later. I swear by her cookbooks, she has changed my life and I got to meet her this year on the flight back from New York City. A GEM.
  
  Way to go Alice waters, small groups change the world always.
• 
  Melissa

  Very fascinating but it takes place from her birth to Chez Panisse opening in 1971 (some mentions take place past this time). But it doesn't cover the most interesting parts of her life: running a restaurant for 45 years, her marriage, her daughter, Edible Schoolyard. I was disappointed as the last disc came to a close and this was all glossed over. Maybe one day there will be a part 2.
• 
  Aria

  ---- Disclosure: I received this book for free from Goodreads. ----

  Sadly, I didn't get through the book. I did my best for 3 or 4 days, and finally conceded that I just wasn't going to make it. I'm at somewhat of a loss as to explain why, though. I kept finding myself growing tired, or catching myself dazed out. I know I was not at all a fan of the way the timelines would jump from her youth to more recent events. It seemed to prevent any coherent tale from forming.

  I thought I would like this book, as I had expected that I'd relate to the author. I'm not sure why I didn't. I think nothing ever became "real," as I was reading. The story was never made to be present in my mind; I just wasn't drawn in. I don't even know how to make recommendations for how to fix it. It seems like she had a nice family, and some of the bits related about her youth seemed like they had potential to be interesting if.............something. I don't know. There was no life to what I was able to push myself through. I'm honestly surprised this came off as it did, blander than boiled chicken between white bread. I can't recommend it as is. Perhaps a complete re-write by someone that could inject some flavor into it would salvage the project. Surely there's a story in there worth the paper, if it could be brought to life. I think there must be, but unfortunately it didn't appear in this version.

  As I couldn't finish the sucker, I can't say that I liked it, or that it was even okay. It wasn't. I didn't hate it. I had literally no response to it whatsoever...like a flat-line reading experience. I just had to call it and move on, and that's not the sign of good writing, so I'm pretty much left with no other option but a 1 star response. I hate that it's this way, but anything else would be dishonest, so, sadly, here we are. I just want to say once more how surprised I am that this book didn't work. It sounded like it would be so enjoyable. I guess these things are going to happen sometimes. *sigh*
• 
  Kathy Cowie

  3.5 stars
  I decided to listen to this book because it is read by Alice Waters. While she cannot really compare to the many wonderful, professionally-trained actors who read audiobooks, I still enjoyed hearing the story from her. She is in her 70s now, I think, and there is something mind-blowing about hearing someone that age talk about how she payed for the building that is now Chez Panisse with the help of parents, friends, and some "un-named dope dealers." How she came to be such a culinary legend is a truly roundabout and fascinating story, and you should listen to it just to hear the names of all the people who dropped by before they were famous. Also, in perhaps the biggest understatement of the book, she admits turning down a dinner with her friend John Kott while she was living in London - he was in town to interview John Lennon (in 1967 or so), and she was too overwhelmed by the thought to join them for dinner. She admits, "in hindsight, that was probably a mistake." Her love of food is contagious, and her rapture about garlic and fresh-picked lettuce made my mouth water — has your mouth ever watered for the taste of lettuce? That's impressive. Her kitchen is a legendary rite of passage for some of the biggest names in the Slow Food movement. If you are any kind of cook or foodie, you will love this story.
• 
  Jessica

  I love Alice Waters and was extremely excited about this book, enough so that I grabbed an ARC months before it came out. And then...it took me forever to finish it. Unfortunately, much of the book was disappointing. The beginning was slow and mostly involved her family and upbringing. The writing felt juvenile and disjointed, and, sorry to say, boring. It finally picked up when she got to Berkeley and began talking more about food which is what I wanted to hear about in the first place. There was a general timeline but still little vignettes were included that threw that off and felt unnecessary or misplaced or just plain odd. I did learn more about Alice, her passion for food, her inspiration and style, some of the stories were amusing, and it did evoke some lovely memories of Berkeley and remind me of why I enjoy seasonal, farm-fresh, local foods, so all was not lost.
• 
  Sally Anne

  Wow. With no disrespect to Ms. Waters, she is no audio book reader. Her publishers did her a disservice by having her read. This book is wondrously dull. I listened i some low level amazement, as if looking at a wreck one would not expect. Ms. Waters lack of insight about her experiences, her friends, her entire trajectory is numbing in its lack of depth, nuance, and, hell, even interest. As a narrator, SHE doesn't even sound interesting or engaged.
  
  All over the map.
  
  Skip it.
• 
  Daniel Palevski

  Simple and honest, I was very taken with Waters' clear and concise writing style as well as her willingness to be open and revealing. Often she criticizes herself has being naive, but this is the part of her I felt most pulled into.
  
  I ate at Chez Panisse when I was in Berkeley about a month ago. I ate at the cafe and wasn't entirely blown away with the experience, but it was definitely a nice meal and a nice place to share a meal with friends. After reading the book, I can look back and say the lighting particularly helped create a cozy ambiance.
  
  This book tells her life story and how she became a chef. Ultimately, she became considered one of the founders of new American cooking and the farm-to-table movement, but this book doesn't delve into those labels or classifications. In fact, it's almost as Waters tries to humble herself and avoid those accolades.
  
  Instead, she focuses more on herself as a person and how she developed into her worldview. Some of the most interesting parts of the book are where she explains what she's like to see more of in society and the type of life she'd like to lead. Going to college in Berkeley, she became somewhat political, and these statements about our country and politics I thought resonated very well with me and what are country is facing today:
  
  Pg. 93 - from the beach to Berkeley 
  
  "When the dominant culture behaves immorally, the way the United States was about the war, civil rights, and freedom of public expression, you begin to feel betrayed."
  
  "Somewhere along the way, in our country's rush to industrialization and consumerism, it began to feel like America had lost its humanity."
• 
  Onceinabluemoon

  4.5 rounding up because I'm so disappointed to see so many negative reviews, I want this to be extra positive. I totally enjoyed this book, although I have never dined at the restaurant I am very aware of it from my youth, as a native Californian it's been a long time institution. I didn't know she was so "counter culture", I enjoyed reliving the era with her. I listened with whispersynch and I always enjoy when the authors read their own works. I was completely entertained, never found it boring as so many have mentioned, for me it's always interesting to hear one's life, I found her quite candid from her youth on. How wonderful she found her calling young and has raised this child for 45 years plus and growing.
• 
  Sheri Schlondrop

  So disappointed...I didn't know what to expect with this book - didn't read any reviews prior to buying it. Her writing style is... did she have an editor? I love the concept of her restaurant and would one day love to dine there, but she should have had someone else right her biography.
• 
  Brian Heid

  2.5 stars. I had never heard of Alice Waters until a friend selected this book for our book club, and while I was pretty engaged at first (particularly learning about her work as a chef and her early upbringing that directly informed that work) I found myself drifting as the book progressed. In the first place her narrative style has no (apparent) rhyme or reason: she jumps around the years in no discernible order, which often renders the narrative disjointed and clunky. Waters also never lets an anecdote pass by without name dropping someone famous, or someone that you should apparently know, and her attitude reeks of pretension. While I love learning about people who’ve done exciting and interesting things with their lives, I don’t have patience for someone who seems more interested in letting you know that she’s met more famous people than you can ever imagine.
• 
  Audrey Brown

  “Beauty is the language of care.” Charming and awe-inspiring. Alice Waters is indeed a beloved Berkeleyan and someone I would very much enjoy discussing the intricacies of life with over a home-cooked meal.
• 
  Anne

  Book club strikes again! I've never been a foodie nor have I ever heard of Chez Panisse (apparently I missed that revolution -the only Alice's restaurant of legend I'm familiar with is
  Arlo Guthrie's) so, to put it plainly, I was completely uninterested and uninformed going into this. Further, from the complete lack of introduction, I think the author and the publisher assumed every one of us reading this book was aware of the illustrious history of the restaurant. Well, let me be the first to say, I wish I'd read the Wikipedia entry first.
  
  Fortunately, I had primed myself (accidentally) by starting an even worse, even more scattered biography (I am not Spock) a few days prior. Not much else could make a slog through the middle-class upbringing of a (to me) random personage of completely bland, but still rather privileged upbringing, bearable. I'm sure I have much to thank for Alice's success (I love a good, bitter salad but I'm 1000% sure that's due to my friend Debbie [maybe Debbie was influenced by Alice Waters, for all I know] not Alice), but still her whole existence seems too mundane to warrant a 300-page book club read.
  
  And while I do appreciate Alice's positive attitude (nary a negative word was uttered against anybody), by the end of the book I felt like I was at a funeral where the deceased was well on the way to being canonized. In other words, zzzzzzzzzzzz. Wish I'd still been awake to appreciate the details and excitement (hers, not mine) of the start of such a legendary (to many people who are not me) business.
  
  3 stars - one whole extra star for being a fast read
• 
  Margaret

  I enjoyed this book but towards the end I feel like the narrative lost steam and became repetitive. I enjoyed the beginning and middle where we learn about Alice’s childhood. Learning about her self discovery in college and her love of French food drew me in. This book also made me appreciate how different things are for women these days. There is still sexism but Alice opened a restaurant during a time when female business owners were an anomaly. Alice definitely communicates a passion for food as an experience and not just sustenance that is alluring and contagious to the reader.
  
  A lot of her recounting of her past relationships and interactions with key players in the counter culture movement seemed almost idealized. Perhaps I’m cynical but she seemed to retain almost a naïveté about how “great it all was.”
  
  If you are a lover of a great meal that is accompanied with the perfect wine while discussing art and film, Alice’s book will definitely touch your soul.
• 
  Helen

  I've only even been familiar with the reputation of Chez Panisse and the reverent tones by which American food journalists wrote about Alice Waters. I've yet to had the chance to visit her restaurant - I'd love to go one day - so this book was an incredible insight into not just the conception of the restaurant, but the life of Waters up until its opening.
  
  Waters was so much more lively and funny and honest and self-deprecating than I thought. It's an offering, I suspect, that's just as heartfelt and consciously uncomplicated as her food.
• 
  Katy

  This is such a lovely book. Waters is a fascinating woman and I loved hearing about her life. The story is not exactly linear but it is a rich and lively one. I want to visit Chez Panisse one day! Also a wonderful addition to my thoughts of the slow food movement.
• 
  Hope Sherman

  For anyone who loves food, art and film, loves 60's history and loves travel - especially to France, this will be enjoyable. Having been fortunate enough to have dined at Chez Panisse made this an especially delicious read!
• 
  Gee

  listened to the audiobook and cried the whole time idk why. soooooo good
• 
  Karyl

  I've known Alice Waters's name for a while, but I'm not even sure why. Perhaps it's because I'm interested in cooking, but for whatever reason, this is the first I'm really getting to know her. I find it fascinating that she grew up in a family that subsisted mostly on convenience foods, and then after no formal training at all, Waters manages to open an extremely successful restaurant in the Bay area.
  
  I too never learned to cook until I was an adult. I can remember two things I cooked before I left my parents' home -- one year I felt no one had remembered it was my mom's birthday, and so I decided to make her a cake. I looked in our pantry and I looked in her cookbooks (she had cookbooks even though she rarely cooked), and the only thing I had all the ingredients for, since I couldn't go shopping on my own, was a spice cake with a powdered sugar glaze. I still dream about that cake! It was so good!! The other thing I remember making is breaded chicken cutlets out of a Weight Watchers cookbook. That wasn't nearly as tasty.
  
  After my husband and I were married, we moved to Washington state, where he was immediately deployed to his ship in the Middle East. That left me alone for most of the year, and it was then that I really started to take an interest in cooking. Somehow it comes easily for me, and I just assumed it did for everyone else (I've since learned that isn't so). My husband left behind a wife who was content with Hamburger Helper and came home to a wife that much preferred to cook completely from scratch. The poor guy.
  
  So reading about Waters's childhood was quite interesting, especially as it regards her sisters. I too grew up with siblings I wasn't super close to, and now we've all kind of gone our own way, but that doesn't lessen the love we have for one another. And Waters came of age in my favorite time period in recent history, a time in which you really felt you could change the world. It was so much fun to tag along on her trips to Europe and her year abroad.
  
  But this book does leave a person wanting. I didn't care about her name-dropping (she apparently turned down an invitation to join a friend and John Lennon for dinner), and I would have liked to have more detail on running the restaurant. I love the idea of cooking just one meal for everyone, but how did that play out? How did people respond initially? Instead she ends the book just after opening night.
  
  Perhaps someone who knows more about Alice Waters will enjoy this book more. I read in another review that there is a PBS special on her, and I'll have to look that up. This book just didn't really do it for me.
• 
  cara cara

  this one is a real special one. it took a while for me to get into it, but once i did, it really took over my heart.
  
  what resonates for me most is alice waters appreciation of beauty. the feeling that you get when you witness something beautiful. the feeling you get when you look out from a sun drenched porch, the feeling you get when you taste something so delicious, the feeling you get when you see your loved ones talking over a precious meal. it's that feeling of beauty. it's the idea that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and that was is beautiful to me might be different than you. if something is loved and taken care of, its beautiful.
  
  one thing that i value the most about my mother is her attention to beauty- her home is filled with gorgeous antiques and vintage items, the lighting is so well crafted, her kitchen is just --ugh! my mom knows how to adorn herself well, she had and still has such a great taste for music, she makes the most delicious food. she values beauty. it seeps out of her. and i can wholly thank her for instilling the love of beauty in my life.
  
  this book touched my heart, because it awakened my own values about connecting with this world. it helped remind me what brings me meaning. it helped me think about my existence in such an optimistic and inspired way!
  
  the book was not well written per-sue, and perhaps the organization was kind of off, but i dont really care! beauty truly seeped from the pages.
  
  
• 
  Scottsdale Public Library

  You may be familiar with the name Alice Waters or her restaurant, Chez Panisse, or even heard references to the Edible Schoolyard Project here and there. Now comes the story of Waters: her various career paths, travels, relationships, etc., all leading to her life's major passion project – a restaurant with a nouveau idea at the time of a fixed daily menu option (influenced by her travels in France). Local ingredients, a place for people of the "counterculture" to gather, eat, debate, and just really connect with food. I didn't know much about Waters before reading this, but came to discover what a life she's lead, including the colorful characters she's known. And it's now on my life's bucket list to travel to Berkeley and eat at Chez Panisse. Who's in?! - Sara Z.
• 
  Glenda

  I received this book as a goodreads giveaway.
  
  Before reading Alice Waters' memoir, I will honestly say I knew very little about this acclaimed restaurateur other than Chez Panisse was ground-breaking and she has been a strong believer of farm-to-table long before it was chic. I loved reading about her adventures in Paris, and how her chance meetings with various artistes and love of fresh French food led her to taking the plunge to opening a restaurant in a very difficult environment. At times she was repetitive and certain name drops were completely unnecessary, but overall an entertaining read.
• 
  Karen Whitehead

  A fascinating memoir by a woman who has been at the forefront of eating local for over forty years. She opened her restaurant, Chez Panisse, in 1971 with no experience other than cooking for friends. She never trained as a chef but she learned to appreciate good food during a formative year in France. She was steeped in the counterculture in Berkeley and her memoir is filled with well known names from those turbulent times. Yet she comes across as likeable and charming, free spirited but practical, a lover of beauty and ambience, and that most of all, to live well we must eat well. Enjoyed this from start to finish.