Natalia Pereira
By Leslee Komaiko
For dineLA.com
Natalia Pereira’s Wood Spoon is that most personal sort of restaurant. Located in Downtown’s fashion district, the narrow, sparsely decorated space features an open kitchen where Pereira cooks the food she grew up eating in Brazil. If the overall feeling is of dining in someone’s home, well, that’s the idea. Wood Spoon received good reviews early on from the Los Angeles Times and the L.A. Weekly’s Jonathan Gold. Still, the restaurant remained something of a local secret, at least until late last year. That was when the Food Network showed up.
What was the last really good meal you had?
My friend cooked for me. He made the most fascinating risotto with fresh truffle. Someone gave him a truffle as a gift.
Sounds like someone you should keep around.
I hope so.
Tell me something you always keep in your fridge?
Garlic. I cook with a lot of garlic. And I have to have fresh herbs. Sometimes I over buy them: rosemary, basil, mint. Home for me is sort of like the restaurant. I eat there lunch and dinner. Besides that, at my house, I do have the same ingredients.
Where are you from originally?
Minas Gerais. It’s a very big city with a lot of Chinese. We have incredible agriculture. I come from a very rich soil thank god. I never remember shopping. The Acai berry comes from there. I grew up eating those, grew up with my cows.
What brought you to Los Angeles?
Actually, I came here to have dental work. I had a little accident in Brazil and I needed dental work to be done. I was invited to Italy but I decided to change and go to “La.” I was saying I was going to “la” next week. People would say, “Where is that?” I said I thought it was close to New York. I did not speak any English.
When was this?
Eight and a half years ago. I had no plan to stay and have a business. In the beginning I didn’t really like it. It was a little shocking to me. For me no music, the water be cold. I said, “Mom it’s really difficult.” So I went back home. During the time I was here I was always cooking. People always say, “You can sell this. This is incredible.” Something I always thought: if I ever have the opportunity I would love to cook. Also makes me happy based on my culture. We have to be around people. Cooking is very important in relationships and life. It brings people together.
But you never studied cooking.
No.
You learned from your mom or relatives?
From my mom.
Had you worked in a restaurant before?
Not really. I worked in an Italian deli for like a month in Santa Monica. I began cooking more and more for Marmol Radziner, an architectural firm. We [Ron Radziner and I] met at the farmers market. His mom lived in Brazil. His aunt still lives there. He and his wife Robin, I have this incredible connection. I began cooking for them at their home. From there I meet a lot of people. I begin to create from one home to the other to the other. I was cooking for a fashion designer who really liked my cooking. He said, “I could definitely see you have your own little place.” In 2006 he said, “I think you should go to the fashion district and open a little place.” He found that location. Basically he said, “During fashion week we need a good place: something homemade and fresh.” I looked at the location and three and a half weeks later we opened the restaurant, in a naïve way. He has been my guardian angel.
So far it has been one of the greatest things that has happened in my life. I can be at home. I can do what I love. That for me is home. Many cultures the kitchen is the center of the house. I always found the kitchen to be a very special place.
But you’re working really hard?
It’s a very small space. The number of clientele has tripled since the Food Network [episode], since the beginning. It brings more people and the kitchen is the same size. I don’t have storage for food, no walk in freezer. Sometimes I shop two or three times a day. I can only keep one case of yams and one case of beets. I shop in very different places.
What are some of your favorite places to shop?
The old Downtown market. You walk in there and see food from all over. It’s on Central and San Pedro. You see all the old farmers there. I get my plantains across the street from them at another market, my malagueta [a chili popular in Brazilian cooking] and yucca flour I order from Brazil, my bacalao at Grand Central Market. Sometimes I have to go to five or six different markets.
And the name Wood Spoon. Is there a story there?
At my home we all have wood spoons. We don’t have stainless steel spoons. Someone said it has to be wooden spoon. I was like no no no.
But outside there’s just a big picture of a spoon correct?
We don’t have a big name. A lot of times we get a customer they look at the picture of wood spoon and then they see the name in window. There’s something very truthful to me. It doesn’t have to be big or in neon lights.
How do you describe the food?
Homemade Brazilian food. It’s what I eat every day. There are a lot of things I eventually want to put on the menu, but I think the customer is attached to this one.
Tell me about how the Food Network thing came about.
Giada [de Laurentiis], her husband, Todd Thompson, he’s one of our bigger customers. I don’t watch TV. So I don’t know people. He would come in and have the pot pie all the time. He said, “I am bringing someone for the pot pie. She is driving all the way from Malibu.” But we had sold out. He said, “Would you make one?” I said I would but it would take a long time. He said, “Call my showroom when it’s ready.”
She walked in with him. Everyone was looking at her. They ordered a big salad and a pot pie. They say she said, “Your pot pie is amazing.” And she loves the crust. And she’s a chef. I was like, oh that’s great. He mentioned maybe she’s going to talk about your chicken pot pie. I was like, okay fine. Then two days later I walked in and my waiter was like, “Oh my god. Food Network called and they want to do the pot pie for ‘Best Thing I Ever Ate.’” I was like, “What’s that?” He was like, “Oh my god, we need to get you a TV.” Literally two days later they came in. That was on November 26 of last year.
Do you ever wish for a day without chicken pot pie?
Not really. We had a customer who flew from San Francisco just to eat the pot pie and then fly back. He showed me his ticket. And that was my dinner on Sundays at home.
Tell me about the cinnamon water. Is this something typical in Brazil?
That’s because I don’t really drink water. I don’t really like water. My mom tried everything she could to get me to drink water: lime, lemongrass, mint. Every day there are different things. Tangerine. Tangelo.
Do you like having an open kitchen?
I do. One thing is that I have to see people. I need to know what is happening. I have nothing to hide. For me it’s an invitation. People see my cutting or making oil or tasting something.
What’s your advice to someone who wants to get into the business?
You really need to love it and you need to know what love is. It’s a relationship pretty much: a relationship with the business, the kitchen, the customer. You have to care for it. If you don’t love it, it’s not worth it. It’s like a marriage, like your first love. Sometimes the money doesn’t come but if you love it, it’s okay.
Last I saw you working, you were wearing boots. But I heard you often wear heels while you are cooking.
I used to dance with my father. He was much taller. He never coached me to wear heels. But to be a little taller, I always wore heels. He was a tango teacher. After that, being Brazilian, we love heels for the samba. Brazilian women wherever they go they wear beautiful heels. For me it’s comfortable. I don’t like the chefy shoes.
Have you gotten a chance to explore the Downtown dining scene?
I go to Blossom which I love.
What’s Blossom?
A Vietnamese place on Main. I really like the Nickel Diner. Every time we’re busy I send people to them and every time they’re busy they send people to us. It’s an incredible relationship we have. Freddy [Fred Eric of Tiara], he’s really good too. I don’t eat out a lot because I am little picky.
WoodSpoon, 107 West 9th Street, Los Angeles, 213.629.1765, www.woodspoonla.com
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