Jacques Pépin joins Alice Waters and other honorees onstage at Smithsonian’s food history gala. | Jaclyn Nash/Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History The Berkeley chef was the 10th recipient of an award in Julia Child’s honor It’s not often D.C. gets culinary big names like José Andrés, Jacques Pépin, Toni Tipton-Martin, and Danny Meyer all in the same room, but anything can happen when Julia Child has something to do with it. Missy Frederick/Eater DC Waters, middle, and Pépin, left, share a moment. A roster of food world MVPs made their way to the National Museum of American History last night for the Smithsonian’s food history gala — its marquee moment was to bestow the 2024 Julia Child Award to Berkeley chef and activist Alice Waters. The event and its award are both in their 10th year, and the Smithsonian managed to gather all previous recipients of the honor to celebrate the festivities. So along with the aforementioned World Central Kitchen founder Andrés, television icon Pépin, cookbook author Tipton-Martin, and restaurateur extraordinaire Meyer, that meant Mexican cooking enthusiast Rick Bayless, Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken of Border Grill, Food Tank’s Danielle Nierenberg, food historian Grace Young, and Owamni’s Sean Sherman were also on hand for the event. Other food world personalities like PBS’s Sara Moulton and, in typical D.C. fashion, some politicos such as attorney general Merrick Garland, rounded out the crowd. Jaclyn Nash/Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History Alice Waters with the Julia Child Award. Waters, who received the award for her contributions ranging from her groundbreaking restaurant Chez Panisse to the founding of the Edible Schoolyard Project, now in 6,500 schools (though undergoing some recent challenges), spoke of Child’s influence on her. She said the demonstrations on Child’s cooking show were “truly lessons” for her, and that Child had taught her that “one should adopt the cultural perspective of the dish to cook it well.” She also loved how Child always set the table and sat down to eat with others on her show, and reminisced over the time Child eventually made it to Waters’s own kitchen. Waters’s daughter Fanny Singer and Andrés both spoke in her honor, with Andrés identifying her as “in many ways, my muse.” From her, Andrés said, “I learned that soft voices are powerful.” He told a story of his own first visit to Chez Panisse, where he was initially skeptical of getting served three dates on a plate as dessert. Turns out “those dates were a revelation” that inspired Andrés to ask himself questions about what cooking truly is — and he earned laughter from the crowd sharing that years later, he’s still waiting for the “queen of simple” cooking to tell him exactly where those dates came from. The award is meant to carry on Child’s legacy and honor someone who has made a significant contribution in the way America cooks, eats, and drinks — it also comes with a $50k grant to a food nonprofit of the winner’s choice. The museum has been the home of Child’s kitchen since 2002. Pépin designed the evening’s menu with Waters’s love of seasonality in mind, with attendees chatting over roasted carrots with harissa yogurt and braised short ribs with cannellini beans. The gala kicks off the Smithsonian’s Food History Weekend, which means a roster of food-related events are on the calendar at the museum through Sunday, many featuring previous award recipients; Tipton-Martin is giving a talk on October 18 on hibiscus tea, Bayless has a cooking demo, and there are industry discussions and book conversations as well. Missy Frederick/Eater DC Andrés responds to Waters’s speech. Missy Frederick/Eater DC Waters giving remarks.