California Welcomes Chefs from Across the Country and Around the World

For the last few years, I’ve been researching and writing a book about the American chef explosion of the 1970s and 1980s. The adventure took me to California about a dozen times—roughly six visits each to Los Angeles and the Bay Area. A number of topics demanded consideration along the way. One was the dead horse of California cuisine. Another was the less obvious, far more interesting subject of what might be dubbed the California chef....