Alice Waters is Fanny's mother and the noted chef, restaurateur and proprietor of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California. She was an early advocate for the use of organic and locally grown food in restaurants, and has written a number of books and won numerous awards relating to her philosophy of food and eating. Before being a cook, Alice was a Montessori teacher and this experience inspired her to found the Edible Schoolyard Project whose mission is to create and establish a national edible education curriculum in all public schools - kindergarten through college. In 2010, Alice received the prestigious Legion d'honneur from the French government and in 2014 she received the National Humanities Medal. Bob Carrau is a writer, screenwriter and artist who lives in San Francisco. He collaborated with Alice Waters on Fanny at Chez Panisse and has known Fanny her whole life. Ann Arnold is a still-life painter. She illustrated Alice Waters's Fanny at Chez Panisse and lives around the corner from the restaurant in Berkeley, California.