In April 2020, we teamed up with Chef Camilla Marcus to cook Brunch Broccoli Tacos and learn about the work she is doing to save the independent restaurant industry.
Camilla Marcus
Camilla Marcus is the Chef/Founder of west~bourne, the popular all day, zero-waste restaurant in SoHo, Manhattan that operates with a unique, fully integrated philanthropic business model. Through a partnership with Robin Hood Foundation, 1% of every purchase made at the restaurant benefits The Door, an organization that supports local hospitality training for youth and from which west~bourne hires most of its team. A native Angeleno, Camilla created west~bourne’s menu to pay homage to California’s bounty, while every detail of west~bourne’s design has been thoughtfully sourced with California craftsmanship and sustainability in mind. Formerly the Director of Business Development for Union Square Hospitality Group, Camilla has also worked in real estate investing for Colony Capital and CIM Group, and trained in both business and law at the Wharton School and New York University. She holds a culinary degree from the International Culinary Center and has worked at some of New York City’s most celebrated restaurants, including dell’anima, Riverpark and Union Square Café.
With west~bourne, she is now the chef, the entrepreneur and the advocate, committed to rethinking what it means to be a good neighbor through the lens of hospitality. west~bourne will soon be the first certified zero-waste restaurant in New York City and in the fall of 2019, Camilla worked in tandem with Vivvi to launch the first childcare facility with dedicated hours for parents in the hospitality industry. Camilla is also a founding member of ROAR: Relief Opportunities for All Restaurants, a coalition started in 2020 to support the rights of independent restaurant owners and operations in New York State. Camilla is also an active angel investor, the co-founder of TechTable, a hospitality technology thought leadership platform, and a partner of Pound for Pound Consulting, a boutique strategic and creative agency for hospitality-related initiatives.
“Restaurants are an invaluable part of the social fabric of our towns and cities. We rely on them to nourish us, to host us as we celebrate, to provide us community, to provide us entertainment. It’s unthinkable that they will not be there to meet us when we come out of this.”
We cooked tacos with Camilla (recipe below!) and listened as she spoke about restaurant relief efforts in the wake of COVID-19. Restaurants and chefs have been an integral part of Future of Women and we want to support in any way we can! You can listen to our conversation here:
Brunch Broccoli Tacos
Ingredients
1/2 shallot, minced
1/4 head of broccoli, chopped
1 leek, light green and white parts sliced
2 eggs
2 corn tortillas (Camilla loves Vista Hermosa tacos from Tacombi!)
1/2 head cabbage or radicchio, thinly slices
1 apple, thinly sliced
1 tsp ground achiote or achiote paste
1 fresno chili or jalapeno
6 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp hot honey (or combine 2 tbsp honey + 1/2 tsp chili flakes)
1/2 avocado, smashed and seasoned with salt and pepper
1 lime, zested and juiced seedless
2 tbsp cilantro or mint choppedsalt + pepper
optional: 4 tbsp cotija cheese crumbled or 2 tbsp creme fraiche recipe
Instructions
Recipe:
Heat olive oil in a saute pan or cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Once hot, add shallots and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the onions are translucent, and then add leeks and broccoli. Season again with salt and pepper and add the achiote. Saute until the vegetables are cooked through and slightly charred. Remove vegetables from the pan and set aside.
Combine the cabbage and apple in a large mixing bowl and massage in apple cider vinegar, lime juice and zest, 1 tbsp olive oil, and hot honey. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Place tortillas directly on stove flame until charred (about 30 seconds) and flip, doing the same to the other side. Once charred on both sides, remove the tortilla and set aside on a separate plate. Continue with all tortillas you intend to use.
Fry both eggs, sunny side up, in olive oil on medium high heat until preferred doneness. Season with salt and pepper.
Assembly:
Place a tortilla on your plate and add avocado. Top with charred vegetables, fried egg, and finish with the slaw. Sprinkle chilis and herbs to finish, plus a dollop of cotija cheese or creme fraiche if using.
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