Alice Waters to receive national award

The White House announced today that visionary chef and and author Alice Waters will be one of ten recipients of the 2014 National Humanities Medal. President Barack Obama will confer the medal in a ceremony to be held September 10 at the White House. 

The award “honors an individual or organization whose work has deepened the nation’s understanding of the human experience, broadened citizens’ engagement with history and literature or helped preserve and expand Americans’ access to cultural resources.” Past recipients of the award include authors Joan Didion and Joyce Carol Oates.

Waters is receiving the award based on her commitment to food activism, and for “celebrating the bond between the ethical and the edible. As a chef, author, and advocate, Ms. Waters champions a holistic approach to eating and health and celebrates integrating gardening, cooking, and education, sparking inspirtation in a new generation.”

Owner of the legendary Berkeley, California restaurant Chez Panisse, Waters has written several highly-regarded cookbooks, including The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution and Chez Panisse Café Cookbook.