The day I met Nathan Dadouk, the artisan baker of Tavern Restaurant, I was blown away. Beyond the immediate flavors of his rustic breads, I was moved by his passion for the ancient art of bread making. I found myself fighting back tears as he told the story of how, at the tender age of eleven, he came to learn the art of bread making from a monk and master baker while attending a boarding school in Venezuela.
Nathan’s passion for dough and his study of bread making made such a compelling story, I found myself gushing to LA friends about my new favorite food artisan. Had they ever heard of Nathan? Had they visited Tavern for dinner or gone to the Larder to order a loaf (or ten) of bread? Eventually, I realized, it was time for me to stop gushing, collect my thoughts and write a story about Nathan.
But first, research!
I took a loaf of Nathan’s multigrain bread home with me to experiment with. In just one week, his whole grain boule inspired thick pieces of toast with butter and jelly for breakfast, open-faced burgers for lunch, and marinated mussels in olive oil and vinegar for maximum bread dipp-age. Nathan’s passion for the look of the bread’s interior, the feel of the crust and the acidity level of the dough will most certainly inspire many more meals.
Several loaves of bread later, I had the incredible good fortune to meet the super-talented Lucy Lean, Edible Los Angeles‘ new editor (thanks T&D!). As a huge fan of the Edible publications, I was thrilled to meet Lucy.
Like Nathan, Lucy is a true artist and visionary. Since joining the magazine she has worked incredibly hard to update the look and feel of Edible LA. The spectacular results can be seen both on the quarterly’s pages and on the magazine’s website (which includes an amazing video of Chef Michael Cimarusti made by my friends White on Rice!)
Within minutes of meeting, I couldn’t help but gush about Nathan to Lucy. Luckily, Lucy loved the story and asked me to write about Nathan for Edible’s new blog which features posts from noted bloggers (like Spicy Salty Sweet, White on Rice and…me!)
Please swing by the website to read honest stories about our region’s culinary culture, chefs, local farmers and the food artisans that make eating in southern California so amazing. And if you have the chance, check out my profile of Nathan.
Want a copy of the summer issue of Edible LA? Pick up a copy at Whole Foods, your local farmers’ market or any of these locations!