California cuisine

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California cuisine is a style of cuisine characterized by an interest in fusion cuisine (combining different cooking styles and ingredients) and in the use of freshly prepared local ingredients.

Food is usually prepared with a strong attention to the presentation. Low-saturated and high-fat foods in fresh vegetables and fruits with lean meats and seafood from the California coast often determine the style. The term California cuisine emerged as a result of the culinary movement of the last decade and should not be confused with traditional California food. French cuisine, Italian cuisine, Mexican cuisine, Chinese cuisine and Japanese cuisine are all influenced by California fusion cuisine, although this does not mean a complete list of influencing cultures.

Video California cuisine

History

One of the first supporters to use locally available fresh food was Helen Evans Brown, who was friends with James Beard after publishing the Helen Brown's West Coast Cookbook in 1952. He advocated using fruits and spices which is available in itself. the neighborhood, a poor grocery store substitute, as well as fresh seafood, are caught locally. The book gained wide recognition and became a "template" for what is now considered California cuisine. Alice Waters, who opened Chez Panisse restaurant in 1971 in Berkeley, California, has contributed significantly to the concept of California Cuisine. Around the same time, at Yountville in the Napa Valley, Sally Schmitt began serving a monthly dinner menu that emphasized local ingredients, passing on the concept when she and her husband Don opened The French Laundry in 1978. In Los Angeles, Wolfgang Puck was also a pioneer early California cuisine; starting with her work at Ma Maison Maison, and further work with Ed LaDou on a California-style pizza in Spago and Asian fusion at Chinois on Main. Daniel Patterson, a more modern style advocate, emphasized vegetables and edible food while maintaining a traditional emphasis on local food and presentation.

This style is primarily parodied in Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho .

Maps California cuisine

Special dishes

Pizza California is popularized by California Pizza Kitchen and Wolfgang Puck and has become a national trend in the United States; pizza is very themed, and generally includes a variety of non-traditional pizza ingredients - Thai chicken pizza with peanut sauce in place of tomato sauce and crushed peanuts and bean sprouts is one of the popular variants; so is the gourmet cheeseburger cheese-themed pizza that usually includes smoked bacon, lettuce, and a small amount of gourmet mayonnaise.