LA. chef and restaurateur, Nancy Silverton is as beloved as the artisanal bread and pizza she’s helped popularize. First with the iconic La Brea Bakery, then, with legendary LA restaurants Osteria Mozza, Pizzeria Mozza, and Chi Spacca (alongside partners Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich), Nancy has shaped the way we eat in this city. Her ‘traditional foods made modern’ methods have helped to influence a more mindful, local way of eating here in LA. She’s also made an indelible impression on the male-dominated restaurant industry (all of the Mozza Group restaurants are also run by women!).
As is much discussed of late, female leadership has been all too rare in the kitchens of celebrated restaurants. Lucky for us, in the wellness world that is 2018 Los Angeles, all we see is leading ladies. In addition to Nancy, we’re never not eating up the innovative work of female chefs like Suzanne Goin (of A.O.C., Lucques, Tavern, the Larders), Zoe Nathan (of Rustic Canyon, Huckleberry, Milo + Olive, Sweet Rose Creamery, Cassia), Jessica Koslow (of Squirl), and women owned and operated newcomers, Botanica and Honey Hi.
Earlier this month, we attended Nancy Silverton’s gathering at Chi Spacca with the men of salad empire, Sweetgreen — one of the most delicious events of the season. As part of Sweetgreen’s ongoing project with top chefs, Silverton’s famous “Nancy’s Chopped Salad” will be available on the Sweetgreen menu as a limited edition menu item starting March 1 at all locations. There’s even a pretty incredible collab t-shirt by TCM fave, illustrator, Deer Dana.
Nancy’s other current projects include a brand new cookbook, Mozza At Home. Stacked with over 100 recipes as good as you may imagine, we were sucked in to it’s pages by Nancy’s dreamy recounting of the time she and LA chef, Suzanne Tract rented apartments near one another in a small Italian village. Her story of their month-long cooking session for friends while exploring the community for drool-worthy goods, from sheep cheese to fresh figs that grew in the yard, is worth the read.
We can’t wait to watch this industry evolve. LA has never been such an exciting city for food as it is today and Nancy has much to do with it. Keep an eye out for her upcoming cookbook, How to Cook Like an Italian Butcher (featuring recipes from her famed haunt Chi Spacca) and grab a bowl of that Sweetgreen salad while it lasts.
