Going "French"

"Without question, my first few years at Chez Panisse, during the seventies, were the most formative for me. At that time, the air in the ad hoc kitchen was filled with new ideas, overgrown passion, and a fair dose of craziness. 

"From the day I arrived I entered into a space of organized chaos. I was working with people who had no background in the restaurant business, no experience cooking, and no real goal other than to serve some sort of dinner each night. Despite this lack of purpose, skill and organization, it had its own magic and miraculously - it worked! 

"Once the early days passed and the restaurant gained recognition and success, the level of creativity and excitement in the kitchen was never again quite the same. The unity we shared in those years, the fun, and the crazy youthful antics, couldn't be duplicated."

Jean-Pierre Moulle and Denise Lurton Moulle in "French Roots: Two Cooks, Two Countries and the Beautiful Food Along the Way"