- Published: December 24, 2021
- Updated: December 24, 2021
- University / College: Queensland University of Technology (QUT)
- Language: English
- Downloads: 22
Tracing its roots back to the 1970’s, California Cuisine is thought to be largely influenced by chefs such as Alice Waters and her restaurant Chez Panisse. It is also thought to have been greatly influenced by Wolfgang Puck, a fellow pioneer involved in California Cuisine, with his work at Ma Maison. Simply put, California Cuisine is a fusion of cooking styles and ingredients with an exceptionally high emphasis on local, fresh ingredients. It is also known to place a great amount of importance on style and presentation, thereby giving it the flash that is partly responsible for its notoriety. Five words are used to primarily describe California Cuisine: fresh, seasonal, local, sustainable, original.
The argument of picking fresh ingredients over those that must be shipped, imported, canned and preserved is an easy one to make. Generally a product is at its best when it is at its freshest, and thereby it is far more desirable to the consumer. When foods are canned or shipped they tend to lose a great deal of their nutrients and/or flavor, leading to a more chef-driven effort to make the ingredients come together to form a visually pleasing and appetizing dish.
Through the use of fresh ingredients that are picked or purchased daily chefs and restaurant owners place themselves at a distinct advantage over others in that they are able to infuse the added flavor and crispness of their meals, thereby drawing a greater interest in consumers and a trend in healthy dining that is difficult to match. California Cuisine is notoriously more expensive, but its quality is hard to match, and so are the effects of its health-conscious fare.
Works Cited
Corapi, Annie. The 10 healthiest ethnic cuisines. CNN Health. 2010. Web. 4 Dec. 2014.
http://www. cnn. com/2010/HEALTH/08/25/healthiest. ethnic. cuisines/
Garrett, Rose. So What Is ” California Cuisine?” Nopa, Bar Tartine, Rich Table, Goldstein Talk It Out. San Francisco Eater. 2013. Web. 4 Dec. 2014.
http://sf. eater. com/2013/10/7/6358557/so-what-is-california-cuisine-nopa-bar-tartine-rich-table-goldstein
Shearer, Benjamin F. Culture and Customs of the United States: Culture. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Company, Inc. 2008. Print.
