From butcher to baker: Zoe Nathan

Nathan and her husband, Josh Loeb have six restaurants in their Rustic Canyon Family of Restaurants: Rustic Canyon Wine Bar & Seasonal Kitchen, Huckleberry Café and Bakery, Sweet Rose Creamery, Milo and Olive, Cassia, and Esters Wine Shop & Bar.

She comes to the Tucson Festival of Books with her first cookbook, “Huckleberry: Stories, Secrets, and Recipes from Our Kitchen” (Chronicle Books).

Were you always attracted to culinary life?

Not at all. When I was a little girl I told everyone I wanted to be a shopper when I grew up. I just wanted to shop and have fun. At 17, I went to art school, but after a semester I realized I wanted something more, so I enrolled in the Institute of Culinary Education.

You’ve worked as a cook, sharpened your skills as a butcher, landed a job as a pastry chef but found your true calling as a baker. What is the baking appeal?

After I moved to San Francisco, I worked as a cook at Jardiniere. On my way to work, I’d walk by Tartine’s Bakery & Café and there was this group of girls who looked like me, with tattoos and everything. They were laughing and having a good time, but also working really hard. I had moved to San Francisco alone and didn’t have any friends. They just looked cool so I decided I would try to get a morning job at the bakery. I thought being in a bakery would be easy. So I went in and asked if I could work there, and they looked at me said, ‘No, you can’t’. They weren’t really that nice.

I went in every day and finally someone had quit, and they asked if I was fast and how were my knife skills. They put me next to a box of apples and I just put my head down and cut as fast as I could because I just wanted to be friends with them. I didn’t much care about the job; I just wanted friends. I got the job.

After working there for a month I just fell in love with it. I loved the lifestyle, baking, the people—the whole thing worked for me. I felt like I had found my people, my whole thing.

You’ve said that baking helped you to find your voice. What are some of the things you try to communicate with your baking?

For me, I love just to love people and to bring some comfort in the world. I think with my baking, and the space we provide for people to sit and enjoy their food, not rushing around for just a few minutes (is) a way of sharing that love.

I generally live life through an abundant way. I try to give people a feeling of abundance in my food. …You’re being taken care of, being loved.

You often say “Color is flavor.” Can you explain it a little more?

People in general bake their stuff too light. They’re afraid of letting things get too brown. People don’t realize there’s a long time in between the stages of turning brown. Turn up your oven—having that color really changes the flavor of your baking.

It’s almost a metaphor for life.

Was it difficult to translate your baking language to a cookbook?

Kind of. I was able to write the book with two people I love — my sous chef, Laurel (Almerinda) and my husband, Josh, while I stayed home with my first child, Milo. There was a lot of love and happiness.

The entire experience had a lot of love. We got a kick out of the fact that people were going to make these recipes at home.

Who are some of your favorite cookbook authors?

I grew up with all of the Julia Child’s cookbooks. I think Dorie Greenspan’s awesome, but there are some really awesome young, new chefs coming up the ranks.

Your presentation in Tucson is going to talk about chef vs. baker. Can you give us a teaser on what you’re going to share?

People look at a baker and a chef and think they are really different. They’re more similar than people realize. That’s what we’re going to talk about.