Nilson Tales Guimarães
Chef Camilla Marcus, a regenerative chef, founder of west~bourne, and mother of four in Los Angeles, recently celebrated the launch of her cookbook, “My Regenerative Kitchen,” with a backyard lunch. The event, held under the trees, featured plant-based dishes from the book, including tartines, a crunchy fennel salad, and rose chocolate bark, alongside natural wine.
Marcus describes her cooking philosophy as improvisational, comparing it to jazz music. She lets the farmers market guide her menu, finding freedom in not being in control. Her approach, she says, is rooted in the idea that what is good for the soil is also good for personal health.
The chef argues that everyday food choices, from ingredient selection to preparation and waste management, are accessible ways to participate in climate action. She promotes small, cumulative changes rather than a complete lifestyle overhaul.
Marcus shared several tips for a zero-waste kitchen. She recommends replacing paper towels with washable cloths and swapping plastic wrap for beeswax alternatives. She uses glass jars and metal tins for pantry storage, and silicone bags instead of plastic bags. She freezes stocks, sauces, and leftover wine in silicone molds for later use.
Her cooking philosophy includes using the whole vegetable. Fennel fronds become garnish, stalks go into stock, and she often skips peeling produce. Before discarding food scraps, she asks if they can add flavor to a broth or sauce. Onion peels, herb stems, and cheese rinds are all considered fair game. She composts what cannot be cooked.
For cleaning, Marcus recommends nontoxic brands such as Koala Eco, Branch Basics, and Grove Collaborative. She also encourages starting a compost pile, noting that composting emits 20 times fewer greenhouse gases than sending food waste to a landfill.
The lunch menu included a whole stalk or bulb salad, which uses every part of the fennel. Another dish was tartines with heirloom tomato, blue cheese, and golden beets, made with ingredients from the market. A spring pea gazpacho and dark chocolate bark with bee pollen, rose petals, and pink salt rounded out the meal.
