Nancy Silverton
The renowned Californian chef and baker was kneading dough long before artisanal bread became a movement. Here, she shares the meals that shaped her.
An outstanding meal doesn’t have to be extravagant. That said, the most memorable meals I’ve had in my life have been on the extravagant side. The first was when I was 11; my dad told my sister and me that we were going out for our mother’s birthday. “We’re going to celebrate at some place prestigious,” he said. My sister and I looked at each other and mouthed that word – “prestigious” – in anticipation. That place was La Serre, then the fanciest restaurant in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, where we lived. I don’t remember what we ate – it was 53 years ago! – but it was a turning point in my dining life. Knowing the impression La Serre left on me, my parents later bought me a set of its serving plates. I still have them.
In 1978, after training at Le Cordon Bleu in London, I was working at 464 Magnolia in Larkspur, California, and kept hearing about a restaurant in Berkeley called Chez Panisse. So I went. As clichéd as it sounds, it changed my life. I can vividly remember the quality of the ingredients: be it a snap pea or raspberry, it was clear they’d been selected with the utmost care. I prefer food where ingredients are the star, not the chef. Chez Panisse (chez panisse.com) continues to shine.
Without doubt, the most impressive meal I’ve eaten was in 1991 at Restaurant de l’Hôtel de Ville (restaurantcrissier.com) in Crissier, Switzerland. It was owned by Frédy Girardet, at the time the greatest chef in the world. The meal was flawless – seared goose foie gras, pasta with morels and truffles, lamb loin and much more. I’d had versions of these dishes elsewhere but everything Frédy sent out was better. The technique, the creativity and the best ingredients combined to make it the greatest dining experience I’ve ever had. To finish, there was a simple lemon tart. The tenderness of the crust, the tartness of the filling, the mouthfeel; it was perfect.
Since 2013, during my summer vacation in Italy, I have been having a lunch – planned months in advance – at Massimo Bottura’s Osteria Francescana (osteriafrancescana.it) in Modena. Massimo takes traditional Italian dishes and refines them, increasing their intensity without losing the rustic roots. My favourite memory of “OF” was ordering the first time. We were a group of six and spent 30 minutes carefully selecting from the menu. Five minutes later, Massimo appeared. He looked at our order, shook his head and said, “Let me order for you.” We did. It was a wise decision.