ICE Alum and LA Resto Owner Zoe Nathan Stays Ready — For Whatever Comes Next

From attending culinary school at ICE in New York to becoming one of the country’s most acclaimed bakers, Nathan has left no stone in her professional career unturned.

“I feel like I’m a lot more than just a baker and a pastry chef,” Nathan told Food & Wine in 2010, later adding that her “dream project” would be building “the best Jewish deli in the world.”

She’s right that she’s more than a baker and pastry chef — and her “dream project” isn’t far from her current reality. Nathan is a prolific restaurateur, the co-owner (alongside her husband, Josh Loeb) and chief creative officer of LA’s critically acclaimed Rustic Canyon Family of restaurants, which includes iconic establishments like Rustic Canyon, Birdie G’s, Huckleberry Bakery & Café and Milo & Olive, among others.

Culinary school placed Nathan securely in the restaurant world, but her path was far from linear. Like many graduates, she paid her dues in tough, male-dominated kitchens across Europe and at home in California. However, she found her calling in the equally demanding but far more nurturing environment of the pastry kitchen.

“The women I worked with were amazing. It was still tough and hard and really physical, all the things I liked about cooking, but there was a gentler, kinder, more female touch to the whole thing, and that just made sense to me,” she said in a 2019 interview with ICE.

Since then, Nathan has been a beacon in both the restaurant and pastry industries. As she established herself in the restaurant world, launching numerous successful ventures throughout LA, she continued to advocate for her baking and pastry compatriots.

In 2014, she published her first cookbook, "Huckleberry: Stories, Secrets, and Recipes From Our Kitchen," and told Eater her reason for writing it.

“I wanted people to understand that we get burnt just as much as anyone else in the kitchen,” she said, “and we work hard and we get paid just as little. I wanted [the book] to be real.” 

Nathan’s work has been recognized by both the James Beard Foundation and the Michelin Guides, but perhaps the best reward has been seeing the businesses she built alongside a host of partners and collaborators blossom into its own community.

“We have over 450 employees at this point, and we know everybody and we pride ourselves on being good bosses,” she told ICE.

Today, from her home in Ventura County, Nathan can add farmer to her list of accomplishments. She recently purchased property in Ojai, a picturesque small town 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles, and oversees fruit, vegetable and flower production on its 3.5-acre farm. 

She also co-opened a restaurant in Ojai called The Duchess, and it has won favor — and press coverage — from esteemed publications including Bon Appétit Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, and Vogue. Her organic, farm-grown flowers dot the restaurant’s interior, while its kitchen churns out a mix of all-day bakery items and globally inspired dinners.

“It works because everyone is making what they love,” she told Resy in a 2022 opening report.

Nathan’s story is proof that when you pursue your passions, the potential for discovery, growth and reinvention are endless.

* Experience varies by student, with outcomes contingent on factors including graduate aptitude, job market, place of residence and work history, among others.

* Photo credit: Emily Hart Roth