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Sections. people were by and large very unaware of who the chefs were. there was no internet. there were not even fax machines at the beginning of this story. so, a lot of what happened in individual cities and individual areas was very self contained. and then, in the bay area, up in berkeley, was this little restaurant called chez panisse that opened in 1971. it had a bumpy road at the beginning, but over time, became, for a number of reasons, a very important restaurant in this country. >> jeremiah: i didn't really know anything about chez panisse in berkeley when michael palmer saw the ad ...

We sell socks. why socks? we found out that socks are the number one most requested clothing item at homeless shelters. so for every pair we sell, we donate a pair to someone in need. but first we had to fix this. socks shouldn't fall down. fixed. lack of arch support? fixed. socks shouldn't have an annoying seam. fixed. the result? socks so comfortable we've been able to sell and donate over two point five million pairs. get an additional 20% off your first order at bombas.com. >> jeremiah: up until 1976, chez panisse in berkeley was a celebration of france and the

He showed it to me and said, "go do it." well, if i hadn't been so broke, i would never have paid any attention. so when i landed in the entrance to the kitchen door, applied for a job at chez panisse in berkeley, it was alice waters' little dream restaurant. >> alice: it has to be a lot of fun, and that's why we always have had music and dancing and people eating with their hands and very -- a lot of informality. >> ken: a bunch of these berkeley students, kinda hippies, you know, it was a place for like, poetry readings. it was a coffee house, you know? there were no chefs involved early on....

And of course, he had huge press coverage, you know, with his syndicated newspaper columns. so he was very powerful. and he loved to help out young chefs. if they were male and cute, he liked to help even more. chez panisse became nationally famous because james beard said it was, of the four restaurants in america he loved, this new place called chez panisse was one of them. well, then all hell broke loose, you know? >> sharon: the restaurant changed from the berkeley people to the wine people, and then to, as someone said, the white patent-shoed people. >> andrew: it got a little bit away, i...

And he loved to help out young chefs. if they were male and cute, he liked to help even more. chez panisse became nationally famous because james beard said it was, of the four restaurants in america he loved, this new place called chez panisse was one of them. well, then all hell broke loose, you know? >> sharon: the restaurant changed from the berkeley people to the wine people, and then to, as someone said, the white patent-shoed people. >> andrew: it got a little bit away, i think, from what the original vision of that restaurant was for alice waters and a number of the other people involv...