The Dish Rack Alice Waters Has Used for Two Decades
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When Bob Cannard, the longtime farmer for Chez Panisse, built his kitchen at Green String Farm in Glen Ellen, California, he wanted a drying rack to match the space. “The only dish drainers available were plastic or stainless steel, and that didn’t fit with my décor,” he says. So he made his own: a simple wooden construction with a cutout for a full baking sheet underneath the slats to catch drainage. The drying rack became popular on the farm and among friends. “The original idea was to sell them at the farm store, but we just gave ’em all away instead,” Cannard says. That’s how one landed in Alice Waters’s hands, and it soon became a beloved piece in her own kitchen, where she has continued using it for two decades. While Cannard is no longer handcrafting them, the racks are now available from the homeware brand Permanent Collection, aptly named Alice’s Dish Rack ($450). Like Cannard’s, each rack is made with solid wood—the original was walnut and honey locust; this one is red oak—that develops a warm patina with use. It fits a half-sheet tray instead of a full baker, which feels just right in a small kitchen.
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