Artisan food aficionado, Barrie Lynn, The Cheese Impresario, (www.thecheeseimpresario.com) sat down with La Brea Bakery Founder Chef Nancy Silverton to discuss her culinary roots, as well as her new highly acclaimed restaurant, Osteria Mozza.

Q. Nancy, you don’t know this, but you are a culinary hero of mine. I will never forget the visceral experience of tasting La Brea Bakery Bread when you first opened your small bakery back in 1989. It totally blew my mind! I was thrilled that crusty bread with a unique personality and flavor was now available just a mile and a half from my home. I then learned about you and how you created this bread based on your own pursuit of excellence. To me you changed the way we eat bread in our country. How did it all begin?

A. I wanted to serve an artisan bread that would give ultimate pleasure to my guests at a new restaurant I was opening, Campanile. I looked for countless sources and couldn’t find just what I wanted…so I made it myself.

Q. There were some other bread companies operating in Los Angeles at the time, but yours was totally different. How did you develop your particular style of bread?

A. There weren’t really role models for me or books to rely on like there are today. I am a curious person and this quest was not daunting to me, but it was challenging. My sixth sense kicked in and gave me the intuition to complete my goal. I had a vision of the quality of type of bread I wanted to make…and did whatever I needed to do to develop the end results.

Q. What was your process?

A. I mentored with someone who could help me grow a wild yeast. At the time, I had five or six experiments going and chose the one that looked the healthiest.

Q. I heard you used grape skins as a part of your yeasty experiments.

A. Yes, the grapes and their skins were what I call “The Gardener” of my starter. The grapes provided the food for the wild yeast.

Q. Now La Brea Bakery is an international company providing high quality artisan breads across the country…and each one has your original starter in it. How were you able to expand from the small bakery on S. La Brea Avenue and maintain the same quality?

A. The incentive to grow the bakery was to satisfy our customers.

Q. I remember going to the bakery pretty early one morning…and it was all sold out. Did that happen a lot?

A. We could not bake enough bread to fill the cravings of bread lovers out of our small bakery. So, we fabricated equipment that could deliver the same breads we were baking on S. La Brea Avenue. It was the combination of the equipment and the process that enabled us to provide our best original flavor, structure and complexity to all of those who love it. The fact that my original quest for great bread can now be enjoyed by so many people...while using the same recipes and formulas as the original bakery…is a great satisfaction to me.

Q. You’ve got so much action going now; I can imagine sleep is a luxury! Your new book “A Twist of the Wrist” is getting terrific response. Your new Los Angeles restaurant, Pizzeria Mozza, was named by The New York Times as the most difficult restaurant reservation to get in the nation. And now Osteria Mozza has recently opened next door, garnering rave reviews.

A. My passion is feeding people innovative and high quality food. All of this activity is my pathway to happiness. Seeing the smiles on my customers’ faces when they take a bite of great bread and great food…now that is pure pleasure.

Exclusive Crostini Recipe from the Pizzeria Mozza Menu