What I’ve Learnt: Chef Nancy Silverton

ABSOLUTELY NO TV during dinner. Instead, we talk. I knew what my father did that day, whether he went to trial or won a case. I knew what my mother worked on and what she wrote. Most of all, I learnt about politics. My parents were very political, and they would discuss politics with each other at the table with my sister and me. I thought that was very unique.

I LIVE my bucket list every day.

AMERICA isn’t going in the direction that I agree with. The many wonderful things that were commonplace in our lives are going to be taken away.

IN 1979, there wasn’t anything like a celebrity chef. In fact, most people did not know who did the cooking at a restaurant.

I WAS VERY LUCKY to be the opening pastry chef for Wolfgang Puck when Spago opened in 1982. Prior to that, I worked at a restaurant in Santa Monica called Michael’s and I was happy there. I met Mark at Michael’s—and would eventually become my husband—and he was gonna leave and be the executive chef at Spago. He asked if I wanted to work at Spago.

I WAS VERY RELUCTANT, Y’KNOW. But I saw it as a career advancement for me. After a lot of begging, I finally gave in. Little did I know, I rode on Spago’s success and right away, the press came, and with that, my career took off.

UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT OF SPAGO, Mark was never gonna become the focal point because it was Wolfgang’s show. Two-and-a-half years later, someone lured us away to work at a restaurant in New York. I didn’t want to do it, but Mark really wanted to, because it was his opportunity to become a celebrity chef. We moved to New York, and it didn’t work out, but by then, Mark was ready to open his own restaurant. We returned to Los Angeles and opened Campanile.

I COULD HAVE WORKED for Wolfgang forever. I had no desire, really, to own a restaurant, but Mark really did, and I wanted to support him.

TO BE A GOOD CHEF, you have to be a chef who’s well-travelled.

VINTAGE, PRE-OWNED GUCCI, I love that more than its contemporary line.

WHEN I STARTED COOKING, I was very intimidated by the idea of being a chef. To me, a chef was someone, who wore the tall white hat, a button-down shirt and had worked for many years. I always felt that I’ll never achieve that, y’know? I’m still not comfortable with that title.

YOU GOTTA LOVE what you do.

[IF I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY to host three people who aren’t around anymore], it’d be with my mother, my father and my middle child. That would be a great party.

THE WAY PEOPLE DESCRIBE ME so often is like, You’re a legend. Maybe I’m a legend because I’m so old and I’ve been around. I look at a legacy as someone who leaves their mark. So, hopefully that’s what I have.

I DON’T REALLY LIKE IT when people are overly creative. Meaning that they don’t feel that they will either make their mark or be appreciated as a chef if they do something simple. Instead, they put such a crazy spin on a classic dish.

IF I’M IN THE MOOD for a grilled cheese sandwich, I just want toasted, buttery bread with a really good aged Gruyere. That’s it. I don’t want any foie gras in there.

I DON’T LIKE seeing myself in pictures. Never seen myself on television, never even listened to myself on a radio interview.

DI I HAVE ANY REGRETS? Yeah, I regret that I didn’t work on my marriage with Mark.

NO, ACTUALLY, I think everything I’ve done was within my control. If I don’t want to live in Los Angeles, I can move somewhere else. If I don’t like having restaurants, I could sell them, right? I thought about the things that I regret, and I really don’t, because I’ve done everything that I wanted to do.

MY PHILOSOPHY is that you can do anything and any decision made… that’s on you.