Chez Panisse - Legacy

Legacy

Beyond its broad influence on American cuisine, Chez Panisse has contributed to the success of many prominent chefs and the founding of a number of notable food-related businesses.

• Acme Bread Company, a pioneer of the artisan bread movement and the restaurant's bread supplier, whose founder was the restaurant's first in-house baker from 1979-1983.
• Dianne Dexter, founder of Artisan baker Metropolitan Bread Company, was Pastry Chef at Chez Panisse.
• Head chef Jeremiah Tower, whose first professional cooking job was at Chez Panisse, later opened the landmark Stars and is along with Waters and Wolfgang Puck credited with inventing California Cuisine.
• Mark Miller, chef after Jeremiah Tower, left for Berkeley's Santa Fe Bar and Grill, then later opened the Coyote Cafe in Santa Fe, New Mexico as the first of a string of Southwestern-themed restaurants throughout the United States, including a Coyote Cafe in Las Vegas, Nevada and Red Sage in Washington, DC.
• Paul Bertolli, Chef from 1982–1992, was executive chef of Oliveto in Oakland, California from 1993 until 2005 before forming Fra' Mani, a maker of Salumi for wholesale and retail sales.
• Chez Panisse alumni Richard Mazzera, Dennis Lapuyade, and Stephen Singer, who in 1998 founded César, a popular tapas restaurant next door
• Judy Rodgers and Gilbert Pilgram, the two chef-owners of Zuni Cafe in San Francisco, California, are both alumni of Chez Panisse.
• Deborah Madison, who worked with Judy Rodgers at lunchtime, later opened Greens Restaurant and became a cookbook star.
• Lindsey Remolif Shere, pastry chef from the restaurant's founding until her retirement in 1997, along with daughter Thérèse, and friend Kathleen Stewart (also of Chez Panisse), opened Downtown Bakery and Creamery in Healdsburg, California in 1987.
• Peggy Smith ran the cafe at Chez Panisse from 1980 to 1997, before leaving to form Cowgirl Creamery, maker of cheeses including Red Hawk, as well as a cheese retailer in the Bay Area and Washington, DC.
• Jonathan Waxman, after getting his start at Chez Panisse, opened Michael's in Santa Monica, California, Jams, Buds, Hulot's, Washington Park, and Barbuto in New York City (where he partnered with and mentored future Food Network star Bobby Flay), Jams in London, England, and Table 29 in Napa, California.
• Mary Canales, former pastry chef, owns and operates Ici, a gourmet ice creamery in Berkeley, CA.
• Suzanne Goin, owner of AOC, Lucques and The Hungry Cat in Los Angeles.
• David Lebovitz, author of several cookbooks and a popular food blog, worked in pastry at Chez Panisse.
• Dan Barber, owner of the Blue Hill restaurants in New York, worked at Chez Panisse.

Other alumni who went on to become chef-owners of renowned restaurants include Charlie Hallowell, chef-owner of local pizza restaurant Pizzaiolo, Michael Tusk of Quince, Mary Jo Thoresen of Jojo, Gayle Pirie of Foreign Cinema, Christopher Lee of Eccolo, Joyce Goldstein of Square One, Amaryll Schwertner of Boulettes Larder, Alison Barakat of Bakesale Betty's, and Russell Moore and Allison Hopelain of Camino in Oakland, all in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Mark Peel of Campanile Restaurant in Los Angeles, California. In addition, April Bloomfield, the head chef of The Spotted Pig in New York City, cooked for a time at Chez Panisse.