Aliza Green facts for kids

Aliza Green is an American chef and writer. She is known for being one of the first women chefs in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She also helped start the farm-to-table movement. This means she was one of the first chefs in Philadelphia to buy food directly from local farms. She uses these fresh, local ingredients in her restaurants. Aliza Green also writes about food and has published many cookbooks.

Aliza Green's Journey

Aliza Green grew up in Washington, D.C.. Her family was spread out, with relatives in Israel and Borough Park, Brooklyn, a Hasidic Jewish area in New York City. Because of this, she traveled a lot from a young age. These travels helped her learn about many different cultures and foods.

Becoming a Chef

Aliza Green taught herself how to cook. In 1975, she started her own catering business. Her first job as a chef was at a restaurant called Under the Blue Moon in Philadelphia. She also studied for a short time in Italy with a famous chef named Marcella Hazan.

Later, she joined Ristorante DiLullo. There, she became the main chef and helped the restaurant earn a top rating. At this restaurant, she started working closely with farmers. She bought ingredients directly from them. She even asked them to grow specific plants, like zucchini blossoms, just for her restaurant.

Farm-to-Table Pioneer

In 1984, Aliza Green was asked to work at the White Dog Cafe. This is where she really developed her "farm-to-table" cooking style. She created a menu that focused on simple, fresh ingredients from local farms.

After White Dog Cafe, she worked at Apropos. There, she created a menu with Middle Eastern flavors. She did this long before these flavors became popular. Today, she is the chef manager at Baba Olga's Cafe & Supper Club.

Travels and Cookbooks

Even though she lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Aliza Green has traveled all over the world. She researches different foods and ingredients. She also leads special cooking tours in Italy, in the Maremma and Umbria regions.

She has written many cookbooks. Her first one, in 1997, was with chef Georges Perrier. It shared recipes from the famous Le Bec-Fin restaurant. Since then, her books often focus on specific types of ingredients. Her Field Guide series of cookbooks is very popular.

Aliza Green has shared that there are still not many women who own or are head chefs in restaurants. She believes it's harder for women to get money from investors to open their own places. She also notes that in many restaurant kitchens, women often work in specific areas like making desserts.