Guest: Camilla Marcus — chef, entrepreneur, founder of west~bourne Host: Elizabeth Stein, founder & CEO of Purely Elizabeth Listen: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio
Camilla Marcus grew up next door to Mrs. Gooch — the woman whose natural grocery stores Whole Foods eventually bought — eating at Japanese sushi counters before Japanese food was mainstream and shopping farmers markets before it was cool. That upbringing, combined with a career that spanned culinary school, working with Danny Meyer and Tom Colicchio, and opening one of the first zero-waste restaurants in the country, eventually led to west~bourne: a regenerative food brand built around the idea that the most important climate decision you make isn't which car you drive — it's what you eat.
In this episode, Camilla and Elizabeth talk about what regenerative agriculture actually means and why it tracks so closely to the organic movement a generation ago, how consumers and brands can support farmers making the transition, and why flavor is non-negotiable — if it doesn't taste better, no one's eating it regardless of how good it is for the planet. They also talk about her cookbook, her obsession with persimmons and cabbage, and why she believes the difference between being alive and actually living is the most important wellness practice of all.
Key Takeaways
Regenerative agriculture is organic plus-plus-plus — Camilla's shortcut definition for anyone who doesn't need the full explanation: regen means climate benefits, better nutrition, and better flavor, all in one
The only system that can pull down carbon in time is regenerative agriculture — more impactful than switching to an electric car, and far more accessible than most people realize
Regenerative food tastes better — Camilla's non-negotiable as a professional chef: it has to win on a blind taste test, or it doesn't make the cut
This is tracking exactly like organic did — 10 years ago no one could define organic either; now it's table stakes. The same trajectory is playing out with regen, but faster
You live and die by your real estate — the most important business lesson from her time with Danny Meyer, applicable to any physical business
Healthy you, healthy everything — taking care of yourself isn't selfish; it's the prerequisite for being a good parent, leader, and creative
There's a difference between being alive and living — Camilla's number one non-negotiable: gearing your daily life toward joy, surprise, and diving in deep rather than playing it safe
Products Mentioned
- west~bourne avocado oil — Camilla's flagship product; sourced from regenerative farms that co-plant avocados with coffee and chocolate crops. The chili avocado oil is Elizabeth's morning go-to on Japanese sweet potatoes.
- Purely Elizabeth Protein Oatmeal — Elizabeth shares the new Maple Cinnamon Roll, Apple Harvest Crumble, and Chocolate Chip Banana Bread flavors, available at purelyelizabeth.com and coming soon to Albertsons, Publix, Whole Foods, and Target
- Koala Eco — Camilla's preferred clean cleaning products
- Blueland pods — plastic-free cleaning pods used throughout Camilla's household
→ Shop west~bourne → Shop Purely Elizabeth Protein Oatmeal
Episode Highlights
On growing up in the original natural food world:
Camilla's next-door neighbor was Mrs. Gooch — the godmother of natural grocery in Los Angeles, whose stores Whole Foods eventually acquired. She grew up at farmers markets, visiting farms, and going to Little Tokyo with her father before Japanese food was widely available in the States. Food wasn't a category of wellness for her — it was just how her family lived.
On why regenerative agriculture is the most important climate lever:
Agriculture produces more greenhouse gas emissions than any other sector, and it's the only system with the capacity to pull carbon back down. Camilla's frustration: Tesla spent enormous money convincing people their car decision is the most important climate choice they make. In reality, buying regenerative food from a grocery store or farmers market has significantly more impact.
On avocado oil and the west~bourne thesis:
The largest early regenerative farms at scale were in coffee and chocolate — both globally traded commodities. What most people don't know is that those farms co-plant avocados because avocados feed the soil and provide shade. The avocados were essentially a waste product of those regen farms that nobody was monetizing. Camilla saw an opportunity: source from those farms, build a premium avocado oil brand around regenerative practices, and win on flavor — which she insists is the only way to make any food product work long-term. It has the highest smoke point of any cooking oil, bakes one-for-one with butter, and is neutral enough to use across everything from high-heat grilling to aioli.
On the parallel to the organic movement:
Ten years ago, the resistance to organic was exactly what we're hearing now about regenerative. People didn't understand it, didn't know why they'd pay more, and couldn't define it. Now organic is table stakes. Regen is on the same trajectory, but moving faster because of the imperative — farmers are watching their land go fallow and understanding that regenerative practices aren't a luxury choice, they're a survival choice.
On Purely Elizabeth's approach:
Both Elizabeth and Camilla made a commitment to source from regenerative practices rather than waiting for full certification — acknowledging that most farms doing regenerative work simply don't have the bandwidth to go through the certification process yet. The goal is to create demand that helps those farms get to full certification over time.
On west~bourne's cookbook:
Inspired by Dan Barber's The Third Plate, Camilla wanted to spoon-feed the medicine with the sugar — take everything that book did for chefs who are passionate about this space and put it into a cookbook format that people would actually read. Every recipe intro and caption teaches regenerative agriculture principles, but you're learning them while making dinner. The book is vegetarian not because everyone should be, but because most people already know how to cook meat and don't know how to make vegetables interesting.
Favorite recipes from the cookbook:
- - Squash bolognese — made from leftover roasted squash slow-poached in oil and garlic, riffed into a Sunday sauce the next day. Camilla calls this "the next day" — the second life of everything, her upcycle approach applied to the kitchen
- - Cabbage dishes — five of them in the book, because Camilla is the self-described cabbage queen. The top-selling item at her restaurant was a napa cabbage chopped salad
Frequently Asked Questions
What is regenerative agriculture and why does it matter?
Regenerative agriculture is a farming approach that goes beyond organic — it actively rebuilds soil health, increases biodiversity, and pulls carbon from the atmosphere rather than just reducing emissions. Camilla describes it as organic plus-plus-plus: better for the climate, higher in nutrition, and better tasting. It's the only agricultural system with the capacity to pull down carbon in the timeframe the climate requires, which is why she argues it's the single most impactful food decision a consumer can make.
What is west~bourne?
westbourne is a regenerative food brand founded by chef Camilla Marcus. Its flagship product is avocado oil sourced from regenerative farms — primarily farms that co-plant avocados alongside coffee and chocolate crops. The brand is built around the idea that buying regenerative food is a more meaningful climate action than most people realize, and that it should also win on flavor and nutrition. westbourne also published a cookbook focused on biodiversity and vegetable-forward cooking, with regenerative agriculture principles woven into every recipe introduction.
Why avocado oil specifically?
Avocado oil has the highest smoke point of any cooking oil, bakes one-for-one with butter, has a neutral flavor that works across both high-heat cooking and finishing, and is rich in vitamins and healthy fats. From a sourcing standpoint, the early large-scale regenerative farms focused on coffee and chocolate were co-planting avocados for soil health — producing avocados that weren't being monetized. west~bourne sources from those farms, turning what was effectively a waste product into the base of its brand.
How is regenerative different from organic?
Organic sets a floor — no synthetic pesticides, no GMOs. Regenerative goes further by actively rebuilding soil health, increasing biodiversity above and below ground, and sequestering carbon. Not all organic farming is regenerative, and some regenerative farms aren't yet certified organic (often because the certification process is too expensive and time-consuming for small family farms). Camilla's view: support farms that are on the regenerative journey even if they're not yet fully certified.
How can consumers find and support regenerative food?
Start at your farmers market — most farms doing regenerative practices have a website and ship directly. Look for regenerative labels at the grocery store. Support brands that are transparent about their sourcing. Camilla's reminder: every farm has a website, and most will mail food directly to your door. The barrier is lower than most people think.
What are Camilla Marcus's tips for a more sustainable kitchen?
Three easy swaps: replace plastic cutting boards with wood, swap paper towels for kitchen towels, and switch to clean cleaning products (her favorites are Koala Eco and Blueland pods). Quality in, quality out — the same mindset that applies to food applies to everything you're using to clean your kitchen.
Topics: Regenerative Agriculture · Sustainable Food Brands · Avocado Oil · Zero-Waste Cooking · Vegetable-Forward Cooking · Food Entrepreneurship · Climate & Food Systems · Cookbook · Clean Kitchen
