California cuisine is one of the most exciting in the world. It is, in a sense, a cuisine under construction, a work in progress. Young innovative California chefs are pushing the limits, taking ideas and techniques from Asia, Latin America and the Mediterranean to craft a bold approach to the table.

 
　 　

California cooking is based on a rich treasure of regional foods, from the garden, the orchard, the sea and the fields. Fresh produce is on hand year around, from apples to zucchini. There is an abundance of locally grown chicken, lamb, pork and beef, often organically raised. There is an abundance of seafood; crab, salmon, halibut and various rock fish as well as aquafarms raising clams, mussels and oysters. The local cheesemakers are winning an international reputation, making delicious cheese from goats, cows and sheep. In the 19th century, California was a major producer of olives and olive oil, a tradition now being revived, with handcrafted oils, often grown by wineries, competing with the best in the world.

 

 

Of course, the great wines of California are playing an important role in the shaping of California cuisine. It is likely that no where in the world do chefs pay as much attention to presenting foods that match with or complement wines. Most good restaurants have an extensive wine-by-the-glass program with trained sommeliers to suggest the right wine for each menu option. California winegrowers have taken the lead in insisting that wine should be on the dinner table as an important part of the meal.