David Lance Goines, an illustrator, has enjoyed a friendship with the restaurateur Alice Waters, the co-founder of the restaurant, since they were both teenagers. Every year Goines creates a Chez Panisse anniversary poster and has illustrated many Chez Panisse cookbooks.
I was first introduced to these posters by my mom, who has this one hanging in our kitchen.
This poster is totally cemented into my brain as a symbol of my childhood home. It's been up there as long as I can remember. I even drew it into a scale model of the kitchen that I created for a 10th grade geometry project.
A few years ago, a weekly planner was published with the work of Goines for Chez Panisse, and my mom asked me to pick one up for her at Kitchen Arts and Letters, a Manhattan bookstore that specializes in food-related books. I was glad to oblige and was amazed to see the more of the work that Goines did. He used a distinct style that you can spot right away.
I like the idea of having the same illustrator create a new poster every year to commemerate the restaurant's anniversary. Great way to celebrate if you ask me!
