Chez Panisse 40th Anniversary: The Bay Area Celebrates Alice Waters (PHOTOS)

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Chez Panisse restaurant, founder Alice Waters and her Chez Panisse Foundation (soon to be called the Edible Schoolyard Project) climbed out of the garden and into tails and ballgowns for a dizzying week of celebratory events. (More than 20, in all.) Private dinners included a $1000-a-head pig roast in Michael Pollan's backyard, an intimate Chinese banquet with Cecilia Chang and a birthday eve dinner at Chez Panisse, hosted by Waters and San Francisco's father of design, Stanlee Gatti. The public caught a glimpse of the glitter at events like the School Lunch -- a $5 suggested donation boxed lunch party in the middle of Union Square -- and the Opening Celebration, a cocktail party at the Berkeley Art Museum, where a portrait of Waters was inducted into the National Portrait Gallery. Celebrities like Jake Gyllenhaal were spotted between events, sucking down organic smoothies to keep up stamina at Cafe Gratitude across the street. Waters sat down with The Huffington Post for an exclusive interview, reflecting on 40 years of Chez Panisse. Meanwhile, social photographer Drew Altizer caught all the action on camera for our slideshow below. Check out scenes from the events in our slideshow, courtesy of Drew Altizer: