Meet Sophie Nau | Food and Fiction Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sophie Nau and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sophie, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I’m from Los Angeles, and I think that has impacted me greatly. I was fascinated by the city from a young age, appreciative of its diversity of experience and sense of wildness, and it has seeped into a lot of my writing. Though I’ve lived in New York and New Orleans, both cities I love and like to return to – and though I have that insatiable travel bug, I’m grateful to have this relationship to L.A. that I do. Cities feel like living and breathing beings, the personality of streets and neighborhoods created slowly over time by so many people’s daily contributions. They feel very layered, collaged. I do love a “city” novel – Ayşegül Savaş” “Walking on the Ceiling” is a recent example, with so many pages taking place on the streets of Paris and Istanbul.

I’ve been working on a novel that is set in L.A., and when I’m writing fiction I don’t always want to be reading fiction. So this past summer, while I was writing a lot, I picked up Rosecrans Baldwin’s Everything Now: Lessons from the City-State of L.A. and I became obsessed with it. I felt like somebody else had articulated L.A. in a way I’ve bene trying to think about it, and had done this extensive and intimate research and really pushed the boundaries of nonfiction writing. It felt like in order to write about the city the way he wanted to, he crafted a form to fit the narrative of L.A. in a really intriguing way.

The other part of my background that is wildly important are my parents’ own artistic pursuits. My dad is a musician and my mom is a florist/ceramicist/all around maker of things. Together they’ve fostered a creative home I’m grateful to have grown up in. I remember being woken up on a Saturday morning to a jazz band practicing in the living room, and we were often the hosting house – open mic parties, dinner parties, etc. That thread of creative expression and hospitality feel pretty integral to both my culinary interest and decision to devote myself to writing and a creative life. They’ve also taught me the value of the hustle required for such a life, because a creative career is playing the long game. That’s something I’m still trying to learn to balance — you need a healthy dose of hard work and blind belief to see you through the ups and downs, and you need to figure out when to take a beat and regroup. I’m not always good at the rest part!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I love reading the answers to this type of question from other people, because no two journeys are alike.

I knew I wanted to write stories since high school, and I still have my favorite DVDs of films that inspired me, that I watched over and over again and read scripts from online. I went to NYU Tisch for screenwriting, then worked as a production assistant in television for a while. But I also became increasingly interested in baking. I wasn’t satisfied just doing it at home — I really wanted to do that on a professional level.

So when the show I was on wrapped, I turned my attention to getting a pastry job. Writing was still the goal, but while being a PA was hugely formative, Hollywood is a complicated industry, and I honestly wanted to have a job title that was directly attached to a specific skill. Like many PAs, I was writing in so much of my free time, and I knew I wouldn’t stop if I switched over to try something else that was calling to me. Frankly, working in pastry opened up a whole world, and it gave me a lot to write about. Having material was not the goal going into it– I really just wanted to get better and see if I could cut it out in a professional kitchen. I wanted to have a job title — Baker — that I felt proud of, too. It was good for my self esteem!

And eventually, it led me to my current work in food writing (and it shows up a lot in my fiction and essays, as well). Restaurants are these amazing microcosms of the world – of culture, class, language, labor, but also just super fun and wild. I like the conviviality (and let’s face it, the touch of hedonism) of restaurants, and I love researching the cultural implications of food. Food is a great lens to learn about people and place, and there is so much creativity and energy and life in those kitchens.

I applied for MFA programs in Creative Writing, including the University of New Orleans’ program on a sort of whim. I think mainly because they offered a summer travel program, and I wanted an excuse to do that. It was a school I had forgotten about a bit in the process, setting my hopes on another institution which I didn’t get into. But when I got into UNO, I felt a surprising excitement. I had never set foot in Louisiana before, but I packed up my things and drove across the country in June 2020. New Orleans became a surprising home to me. I wrote a ton, I lived a ton. I was exposed to this crazy little corner of the U.S. that truly feels like another country. That’s also when I started working more seriously on short stories, on my novel, and food writing. While in grad school, I was the first employee at my now good friend’s restaurant, a small wine bar/bakery where we did everything! I feel very influenced by place in my writing — maybe everybody is — I just see it as another character, with something to say. New Orleans is haunting, rugged, magical, a political and cultural ground zero for many things. I appreciated being a part of it.

As for what I do now, it’s a bit of everything. I write about food for EdibleLA and other publications, I’m editing my novel, and I’m getting back into screenplays. My sister and I have a baking pop up called Vitale Baked Goods, and I’ve taught a few literature workshops that I’d like to continue developing. I do love working in local journalism because you really get to dig into what makes a place unique. I’m project-oriented, and have a few ideas brewing for some new media/film/writing ventures.

As to was it easy, it has not been easy, per se! But I’m really grateful, again, for coming from an artistic family. From a societal point of view, it can be hard to choose a creative path, but at least I didn’t have to convince my family, or risk their disapproval. I’m very thankful for that.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Oh this is hard! At one point I wanted to make a travel guide to L.A. based entirely on the metro system, highlighting what you could do by getting around in our public transportation. I don’t know if this would be fun or excruciating for a visitor, but I still want to try it out at some point.

That aside, things I would try to include for a unique experience would be:
-Wi Spa followed by a cocktail at the Prince and then BCD Tofu House or any other Korean tofu spot.
-Some kind of old house tour, or maybe we drive around to different old Hollywood apartments
-Walking the stairs between old houses, in Silver Lake, Mt. Washington, Santa Monica, etc.
-The farmer’s markets!
-I don’t even know where to begin on where to eat and drink, but a few old and recent favorites are: Dunsmoor, Pine and Crane, Kismet, Tabula Rasa wine bar followed by Thai food in Thai town, Sam’s Place in Highland Park, Si! Mon, Lou’s French on the Block, an old school Mexican cantina (for the vibes as much as the sizzling plates as big as your head), the list can go on and on…
-(If said visitor was into it) Driving Sunset across the whole city. I like to watch how that iconic street changes neighborhood to neighborhood.
-A hike with a view — Kenneth Hahn, Mulholland, Griffith Park. Kenneth Hahn has my heart for childhood memories of cross country races.
-Hopefully somebody in this time frame would throw a house party in an old 1920s house on a hill, with good music, drinks made from citrus from the yard, and snacks from Titos Tacos or Portos or somewhere like that.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My family, most definitely. My mom, my dad, and my sister Grace have been supportive since day one, and all of them are so creative, just making things all of the time with good energy. My boyfriend is such a support system, as are my old and dear friends. A shout out to my cousin Bridget, a boss if there ever was one, who exudes leadership and grace, and my New Orleans creative community.

I also want to mention Jim Krusoe’s writing classes at SMC, which I took one summer for fun. It helped me see how important it was to find a community of people who like to talk about books and art and imaginative works, and that you can find that anywhere if you look.

Website: https://www.sophienauwrites.com

Instagram: @sophienau

Other: www.culinaria.substack.com