How Nancy Silverton Built a Restaurant Empire

There are certain moments that Nancy Silverton vividly remembers from her career. The first was in 1974, when she realized she wanted to become a chef while working in her college dormitory kitchen. The second was in 1990, when she received a letter stating that she had been named a Food & Wine Best New Chef.

The award came as a surprise to Silverton, as her Los Angeles Italian restaurant, Campanile, had been open for less than a year. She earned the distinction alongside her then co-chef and co-owner, Mark Peel, who oversaw the majority of the savory dishes, while Silverton was in charge of pastry and baked items. “It could have easily been Mark, but Food & Wine gave it to both of us, which was pretty unusual and forward-thinking, realizing that we both had that contribution to make,” she says.

Early in Silverton’s career, cooking for Wolfgang Puck at Spago, the idea of owning more than one restaurant seemed impossible. “I couldn’t imagine not being at the restaurant every single day, every single moment,” she recalls. “I never thought about having the kind of mini empire that I have now.”

Today, Silverton co-owns Mozza Restaurant Group comprising Pizzeria Mozza, Osteria Mozza, Chi Spacca, and Mozza2Go in Southern California, with additional locations in Singapore; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; London; and Baja California Sur, Mexico. She also has a gelato business, Nancy’s Fancy; hosts the Three Ingredients podcast with Laurie Ochoa and Ruth Reichl; and has written 11 cookbooks.

Building a restaurant empire didn’t come naturally to Silverton. “I had to reckon with [the idea that] no matter what, no matter where I am in the world, whatever goes on in my restaurants is my responsibility,” she says. “And it was also important for me to recognize that things are going to go wrong when you’re not there, but they’re going to go wrong when you’re there, too.” Like every restaurateur, Silverton had to make a choice: Either she would commit to being at one restaurant every single day, or she would grow her business, understanding that her team is capable of operating her restaurant without her supervision. She chose the latter. 

Another thing Silverton didn’t think was in the cards for her? An 11th cookbook. “I always equate cookbook writing with the time you choose to have another child. You deliver a child, and you think, ‘OK, I’ll never have a child again.’ And then over time, you forget the pain, and you have another.” That book she didn’t think she’d write is her 2023 baking bible, The Cookie That Changed My Life. It contains over 100 recipes, including her ultimate versions of carrot cake, peanut butter cookies, and Italian chocolate salami — the most creative way to repurpose biscotti. For Silverton, it’s a chance to return to her first love of pastry and baking. “I thought if I really gave the time to look at each of those desserts that we call classics and try to make them as good as I could, then I would feel like I did my job.”

Silverton’s stable of restaurants continues to grow, with burger pop-ups, brand partnerships, and three new restaurants opening in 2024, including a new Mozza in Washington, D.C. — a first-time collaboration with chef Stephen Starr. 

Silverton simply doesn’t get tired of her job. “I’m as excited today as I was back when I first realized I wanted to be a cook,” she says. “For all of us that are in this field that love what we do, it’s just in our DNA. We wake up every day, and we do what we were meant to do.”