Alice Waters' Open Letter to the Obamas
It's a little late now that President-elect Barack Obama has opted to keep on Cristeta Comerford in the White House chef position, but gourmet.com has published food guru Alice Waters' open letter to the Obamas, "in its full, final form." (NB: If you've ever wanted to forge Waters' signature, here's your chance.)
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16 Comments:
There is always hope for change and the implementation of valuable ideas. Perhaps this would be a chance for the Slow Food movement and The Edible School Yard program to become more mainstream. Hey--why not write your representatives with this agenda. I'll bet we could pack a punch or at least a jab in the old snail mail and email inbox if we all committed to doing our part. Hmmm. Anyone care to write an eloquent and effective letter? I might try, but would love some key points from overall feedback from the SE community to address. SE Team--you're all skilled and masterful writers--tips please!
dhorst at 8:18PM on 01/15/09
At first I thought some of this was a nice idea. As I've learned more about it and now having read the letter I think it's simply presumptuous and grandiose. It completely ignores the fact that someone holds the job and has, from all accounts and possible sources done quite a good job including being environmentally responsibly and sourcing fresh, local and organic foods.
I'll write again that the level of presumption in the letter is staggering. I've lost a lot of respect for Ms. Waters.
ccbweb at 8:20PM on 01/15/09
@ccbweb--I agree with some of your comments. Presumptuos--yes. Grandiose--perhaps. But come on, our bigger=better and louder=media play that often garners attention. I'm not saying it's right, but considering the influence that some of the big boys have, Con Agra, to name just one, I will forgive Ms. Waters for her letter that does not address many of the concerns that she tackles in other arenas. But since you are very talented with the pen, and I do mean this sincerely, what do you think about giving my idea of hitting our representatives with an eloquent and effective letter regarding this issue? Kids Growing Food from Cornell is an example of funding for schools that I personally would like to see more wide spread throughout NYS and versions of that in other states.
dhorst at 8:57PM on 01/15/09
Cristeta is a wonderful chef and it is terrific that The First Lady, under whose purview this falls, decided to keep her in the position!
Deb07 at 11:17PM on 01/15/09
I cannot help but find it amusing. Let us all write letters and have them published in Gourmet. Maybe that will fill up the skinny as shit issues I keep getting. Then I hear rumors of Gourmet going under and you have to say to yourself NO really!
What is even more annoying is getting damn emails from Gourmet from Ruth and her weekly plea for you to buy some of her favorite foods... This week, "Every year, as I order Kishu tangerines..." etc etc.
If I had a magazine Perky, iza, chif and I would write letters all the time.
Dear People at Kraft/Hellmans why did you take away the good dressing?
I think we should all write letters. My next letter is to Conde Naste. To tell them to knock off the bullshit. More content and less garish pictures.
As for Alice she is a senior citizen now. As an elder of our tribe we have to pay her some respect. Nod your head and pay homage. If everytime someone senior said something grandiose and posturing I could collect 100 bucks I could retire.
JerzeeTomato at 9:12AM on 01/16/09
Gourmet has really gone downhill. The graphic design is awful, and the content kind of blah. Saveur has slipped a bit too IMO, but it's still light years ahead of Gourmet.
rps at 9:34AM on 01/16/09
@Jerz ~ as a cost cutting measure, I cut out magazines years ago (except for the decades old ones I pilfer from the doctors offices) not on purpose - really! Kraft dressing? Pull eeeeze! Not on your bippee. Hellman's mayo, yes. Do they make salad dressing? I do have a bottle of Newman's Own balsamic vinaigrette that ain't half bad. All the ones where I'm staying say fat free. No olive oil? No thanks! I don't dare peruse the ingredients, as they will not pass my lips.
@dhorst ~ have you checked to see if there are any internet groups focusing on your issues? There is definitely more force in numbers. My activist days were time consuming and very fulfilling. I made a difference and it was worth it. Today, I'm out of steam and too focused on trying to survive. I'm glad there are still people who care enough to plow ahead. You will make a difference and be proud of yourself. That's noble progress!
PerkyMac at 1:34PM on 01/16/09
Alice Waters, once known for rightly pushing farm to table restaurants, is now projecting her utopion views of what she thinks america should be like on B. Obama. This is just like everyone else is doing. I am obsessed with food and cooking, but am not so niave to think it is of the importance she makes it out to be. She is definately a narcossist, as well. She may be a little nuts...
mtsod at 2:57PM on 01/16/09
I had an idea while I was out running errands. Someone pick Aunt Alice up and take her to a Walmart supercenter. She can run up and down the aisles pontificating to the pop tart, fruit loops, sunny delight and frozen pizza people. I would pay actual money to see it. You can lead a person to super walmart but can you make them eat the local broccoli?
JerzeeTomato at 4:01PM on 01/16/09
@Jerzee~are you selling tickets to this event? I'd like to reserve two please! And I would be happy to chauffeur Aunt Alice to this event.
By the by, did anyone see Alice and Mikhail Baryshnikov on Sundance's Inconoclasts? I personally found it facinating and I also enjoyed the series' episodes on Mario Batali and Michael Stipe of REM and John Besh and Wynton Marsalis.
dhorst at 6:46PM on 01/16/09
It is a little grandiose, but in Waters' defense, she previously admitted she hadn't voted in 30 years, so I don't really expect her to know what's going on in the White House kitchen. And everyone had expected Obama to replace the chef -- so what if she jumped the gun a little bit?
suthungirl at 4:44PM on 01/23/09
So glad I was pointed over to this thread. Thank you, ccweb!.
I have to say that I found the tone of Waters n' Posse's letter to be tactless, uninformed and utterly narcissistic.
Before writing such a letter, wouldn't it have been responsible to do a bit of research first on the practices of the White House kitchen, rather than making assumptions? Walter Scheib has clarified that the White House is a proponent of organic, locally sourced, support-the-local-grower-what have you movement. They're just not loudmouths about it, like certain people.
I also found distasteful their allusion that the current chef was not, and I quote, "A person with integrity and devotion to the ideals..." Wow. Reading that left the nastiest, MSG-laden, non-organic taste in my mouth.
lorelei76 at 5:17PM on 01/23/09
@lorelei76: I like what you mentioned about a follow-up "apology" letter. From what I understand, though, Waters does not use a computer and is probably unaware of the teastorm that's brewed up over that missive.
Adam Kuban at 5:42PM on 01/23/09
It seemed like the poor chef was being used as a 'whipping girl' for all of the ire that Waters feels about the Ag Dept., FDA, and other branches of government that have practiced unsound policies. However, the story of this chef seems quite credible and compelling and it's not fair to assume that she has no integrity, personally, just because there are so many other social problems out there. Quite often, chefs proceed through Republican and Democratic administrations. What is more ironic is the concern that Laura Bush had for making sure the First Family ate well, despite the policies of the government.
There are many government issues well-deserving of Alice Water's social activism and petitioning--and all of our efforts--but trying to oust a chef that seems to cook reasonably sustainably and who has had to fight tooth and nail to succeed in a male-dominated profession seems like a poor fight to fight.
HeartofGlass at 6:40PM on 01/23/09
On the way back home from work, I was thinking further on why this bugged me so much and I just couldn't verbalize it properly.
HeartofGlass - you touched on some of the reasons why I found this such an ugly letter. Here's a:
1) woman
2) of color who
3) immigrated from a developing nation to find a better life for herself and her family and
4) through hard work, natural talent and perseverance worked her way to the top in the White House and
5) is so well liked and respected that her previous boss will go up to bat for her more than once and
6) has gained the approval and accolades from the President, the first lady and the family during her years in the White House and
7) is a complete supporter of the green/organic/locally sourced/environmentally sustainable food movement.
Yet somehow she's not good enough in the Waters Posse's eyes because she doesn't throw press conferences to shout to the world of her accomplishments?
What's a person have to do to get on the Waters short list of approved chefs?
Oh yea. Your own empire of restaurants, and be in her inner circle. My bad.
lorelei76 at 7:37PM on 01/23/09
@thanks lorelei76--I just think Waters is having trouble separating this chef from the Bush administration. She cooked for him, sustainably and locally, but that does not mean she supports him or his policies--in fact, very likely, quite the contrary.
HeartofGlass at 7:44PM on 01/23/09