Interview: chef Zoe Nathan (Rustic Canyon, Huckleberry, Milo & Olive + Sweet Rose Creamery)

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Chef Los Angeles

INTERVIEW CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

You said that Liz and Chad perfected their craft. Is there such a thing as perfection in cooking?

No. I think what’s so neat is that Chad now makes lots of amazing breads. When I first started there, it was one bread. He seemed to be working on it every single day. He was perfecting his craft. He was always working. It was so cool to watch. He was always trying to work on the starter a little bit, working on this and examining it, making sure it was right in that weather, at that time. He was always in the process.

What’s the criteria for a baked good at Huckleberry, and how is it different from a baked good at Milo & Olive?

Here, things are definitely a little bit – not girlie – but cuter and funner and a little bit pluckier. At Milo & Olive, we bake a little bit darker there. There’s a lot less color. Even the display itself, there’s a lot more brown at Milo & Olive than here. There’s a lot more deep color. I just wanted to focus more on the grains and the oven. Here, there’s a lot more focus on fruit and playing more with the sweet aspect. There are definitely a lot of sweets there, but I think that you put the two displays together, there’s just more. At Milo & Olive, I want to work a lot more with gluten free, different grains, and I love the idea of doing gluten free without the weird stuff, without chemicals or doing vegan without the weird stuff. I’m not that into fake stuff, but I also do think certain people do have needs. I met a couple people who have Celiac and have can’t sweets. So there it’s just like eggs and butter and cream.

What was the most recent baked good you created, and what was your inspiration?

I’ve definitely been playing a lot with the gluten free and trying to get us a good gluten free mix. We have this lemon poppy seed tea cake and we’re trying to convert it to gluten free. It’s buttery and rich and so naughty. That was the funnest thing. I hung out with this girl who’s Celiac, and she was like, “I don’t want vegan. I want butter. I want eggs.” So I’ve been messing around a lot with that recipe, and I think that recipe’s been getting close.

My sous chefs here and I are starting to dream of a cookbook, so we’ve meeting about that. That’s where my head’s at.

It would be a Huckleberry cookbook?

Yeah, but it’d be like four years out, a couple more kids there in the middle. We started doing, and we want to start doing here on Monday, pancakes, like ricotta pancakes. Milo is obsessed with pancakes, so Josh and I make him pancakes every morning. For three months straight, he didn’t have the same pancake, because I was obsessed. It was like a sickness. Now we’re seeing some coming back. So we’re like, “We want a whole pancake section.” We’re in that whole creative idea.

Milo’s your official recipe tester?

Yes. Luckily he’s a good eater. He’s also very into pizza.

What pancakes went over best with him?

Everything, he would eat. Every morning, we would give him pancakes. Whatever we would put in front of him, he would eat. He’s maybe not so discerning yet, like, “Mom, I think this needs a little more salt.”

What’s the biggest challenge about owning and operating multiple restaurants?

I never thought I would have more one place, but I married a restaurateur, and we work together. It’s been really, really challenging for me. To start, I wanted a place where everyone could find me, and now I’m like, “Okay, I’m here this day, I’m here that day,” running around. I’m working at night here. I find it really challenging, because it’s just hard to get into the rhythm of doing one thing, especially for me. For him, it’s really exciting to bounce around and have his hands in a lot of different things. For me I just want to bake a cake, start to finish, and taste it with my girls and the guys and discuss it. I find it really difficult, and I think right now, I’m trying to re-evaluate my life and see, how can I get back to that? That’s where I’m an asset to the businesses. I’m not a restaurateur. I’m just a baker. I just want to go in and grind it out and shoot the shit and find out why somebody broke up with so and so while mixing a cake. It’s challenging with the four businesses.

How are you able to find balance, if you’re even able to?

I started working at night more often, so I’m home with him more often during the day. So I do that. When we first opened, I did that every night at Milo & Olive, and now I’m down to two nights there, and I like it, it’s really fun. I can have a glass of wine and make pizza and talk to my night bakers. I just work a little less. I work only at five hour stints, and I’ll come home for a couple hours and go back. It’s hard.

What’s your favorite part about working in restaurants?

The family. This is our family. The people. The lifestyle. The creativity. And the food. I like to eat.


Cake Los Angeles
What would it take for you and Josh to open something outside of Santa Monica?

A lot. Our moms would have to move, I think. We were born and raised in Santa Monica. It’s where we’re at. There’s not a lot here. We need so much more here. Anybody who’s out there listening, we need the best Chinese place, or the best barbecue. We need really amazing food with really amazing ingredients. It blows my mind that we’re so close to the farmers market, we just need to see more places. And I think that we know these people. It’s our moms. They’re coming in all the time, our dad, our brother, our sister. I think we would be out of our element somewhere else. We might not be quite as confident in what we are, but we are opening another Sweet Rose on the other side of town.

Oh you are. What part of town?

We’re thinking Hollywood, but not in Hollywood. West Hollywood-ish.

Like this year?

Yeah, hopefully soon.

How much more can you take on?

I would like to start working at the Pickwick and have like 100 more babies and get my life in order, but Josh has the bug, because this is what Josh does. I don’t know. I think he’ll open a bunch more places, but each place will be unique and each place will be amazing.

If you could only eat one more dessert, and it can’t be one of yours, what would it be?

There was a dessert that I loved. We went to Hatfield’s a year ago, and we had desserts there, and I swear it was like the best desserts we have ever had, but I can’t remember them so clearly. But I would honestly just ask Karen Hatfield to make me whatever she wanted, and I would be so happy. She’s so awesome, so talented. She’s the best pastry chef in the city, hands down. I think she’s amazing. So whatever she wanted to make, if she made it for me, I would eat it.

Address: 1014 Wilshire Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90401
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Joshua Lurie

Joshua Lurie founded FoodGPS in 2005. Read about him here.

Blog Comments

Josh, I love this interview!! I am such a huge fan of Zoe Nathan’s pastries and ALL of their businesses. I was just in Huckleberry yesterday thinking to myself how much I feel at home there and what a great feeling it has– much like Zoe describes her love of Tartine! I really enjoyed it, so thanks to the both of you for doing this interview!

Kristin,

Glad you enjoyed my interview with Zoe. I really appreciated how candid she was about her past experiences and connection to Tartine.

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