Actually, maybe we need to go further back – to the 1960’s – where all things in the Green & Red story really began.  In 1967, founder Jay Heminway was living in Berkeley, teaching sculpture at U.C. Berkeley, and right in the eye of the 1960s storm — dead center in the summer of love, of the free speech movement, of anti war protests, psychedelia, and a reawakening of so many to the beautiful and complex world around them.

There were so many things wafting through that fine California air, but one part of this Berkeley movement was a renewed appreciation, among a tight knit group of friends, for local, authentic food and wine.  Bob Wax, Patty Curtan, John Lilly, Alice Waters, and Jay Heminway were a part of this merry group of friends.

Provençal cuisine, with its emphasis on using the freshest local vegetables, herbs and ingredients, found its loadstar at Chez Panisse, opened by Alice. Some of this band helped found Berkeley’s Cheese Board, while others went in different directions.