As those familiar with school lunch reform already know, Alice Waters' Edible Schoolyard program combines nutritional education with garden training, cooking, and other hands-on skills in the hopes of turning our nation's youth into trim, vegetable-craving eaters. Her initiatives have been the subject of much debate, by foodies and educators alike, leading to vehement supporters as well as detractors. Last week, the Atkins Center for Weight and Health at U.C. Berkeley released an official study of Waters' School Lunch Initiative. Ultimately, it produced interesting results. More

In The Green Kitchen is a book that covers basics that any modern and socially aware cook should know. Alice Waters along with her slew of experts cover everything from stocking a pantry to basics—like how to make a stock—and the right way to prepare salad greens. Everyday this week we'll be sharing recipes from the book, starting today with a tomato and tofu salad from David Chang. Enter to win a copy here. More

In preparation for a week's worth of wonderful recipes from Alice Waters' wonderful new book of cooking basics, In the Green Kitchen we sat down with her to chat about the Slow Food event that inspired the book, some of her favorite recipes that made it in there (pickles, roast chicken, poached eggs) and tips for greening your own kitchen. More

[Photograph: Edible Schoolyard] Sarah Henry is a Berkeley, California–based freelance writer who also volunteers once a week at Alice Waters' Edible Schoolyard project. She's got a unique take on that Atlantic–Caitlin Flanagan hatchet job that caused a stir last week. Clearly Caitlin hasn't spent much, if any, time in the Edible kitchen, run by head chef teacher Esther Cook since its beginnings 14 years ago.But I have. And I've seen a lot of wonderful things take place in that cooking classroom, not least of which is the making of fabulous, school-grown, organic feasts.Here's what I've witnessed:Kids from diverse backgrounds working together to cook food.Middle schoolers who might not excel in conventional classes discovering other talents such as knife skills... More

Caitlin Flanagan's hatchet job in the usually thought-provoking and intelligent Atlantic Monthly on Alice Waters and her Edible Schoolyard project is so wrongheaded. How wrong? Let us count the ways. More

[Credit: Wikimedia Commons] "Part of my philosophy is to try to give employees a great quality of life. My guiding principle is to put myself in their place and ask what I would find desirable in a job. That's why the waiters' changing room is just as beautiful as the Chez Panisse kitchen and bathrooms. I also feel that it's impossible for a chef to work productively six days a week. Chez Panisse chefs work three and are paid for five. This way they have a day to go to the market and get inspired to cook. It also gives them time to have dinners at home with their families." [CNN/Money]... More

The food world may have no more polarizing figure than Alice Waters. On the one hand, her acclaimed restaurant Chez Panisse hasn’t fallen out of favor for nearly four decades, her Edible Schoolyard has taught decades of schoolchildren the importance of fresh foods, and her work for the Slow Foods Movement has been impassioned and tireless. Yet, as Laura Shapiro points out in this month’s Gourmet, Waters has become a figure of endless censure, attracting criticism like a magnet does iron shavings. And in recent months, these digs have morphed into outright insults. She’s often called arrogant, self-righteous, and out of touch… or, perhaps even more damning, downright irrelevant. Here at Serious Eats, we’ve seen our own share of Alice-bashing.... More

I caught some mostly good-natured flak when I fancifully gave President Obama a hard time for not allowing his wife to plant beets in the new White House garden. Now, according to Maureen Dowd's column in today's New York Times, Alice Waters also wants to introduce our President to the joys and pleasures of fresh beets simply prepared: "I would like to serve him some golden beets sometime that were roasted in the oven, that were not overcooked, that were dressed with a lovely little vinaigrette, maybe even diced in a salad," she says in her seductive way. "Squeeze 'em with a little lime. It's fantastically nutritious." And seriously delicious, I might add. Here's a recipe for the White House... More

California's First Lady Maria Shriver is piggybacking off Michelle Obama's big choice to bring an edible garden to the White House lawn. Earlier this week, Shriver said an 800-square-foot garden will be planted on the east end of the Capitol building in Sacramento, replacing an existing flower bed, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. She's isn't totally new to the urban garden scene. In October of 2006, Shriver launched the state's inaugural California School Garden Week, where schools all over California raised shrub-pulling awareness. No word yet on what crops will be planted but, of course, the public garden dame herself Alice Waters will be helping out. Related News Report: First Organic Vegetable Garden at the White House! [Talk] No Beets... More

Photograph from bookgrl on Flickr In November, locavore food activist Alice Waters wrote an open letter to the Obama family, urging them to chose a progressive White House chef that would prioritize health and environmentalism. She also slipped in a line about her continued dream of a White House veggie garden. Now, in a New York Times op-ed piece, she's asking the current administration to reassess the National School Lunch Program, launched in 1946: We need to scrap the current system and start from scratch. Washington needs to give schools enough money to cook and serve unprocessed foods that are produced without pesticides or chemical fertilizers. When possible, these foods should be locally grown.How much would it cost to... More