Interview with: Nina Olsson (Nourish Atelier)
Nina Olsson is an award winning food-photographer, art director, stylist, illustrator, writer and book author. With an impressive background in fashion, PR & marketing, she has worked creatively with food for magazines and culinary brands for over 15 years. A best-selling author of four green cookbooks, she’s a multi-talented and truly passionate cook. Nina was raised in Stockholm, Sweden, she studied and worked in London for a number of years, before moving to Amsterdam - where she currently resides with her husband and children.
Nina founded Nourish Atelier in 2008, as a creative food & media platform; a place for her to write and share ideas and inspirations for healthy conscious food, people and places. With a focus on plant-based eating, you can expect the site to be packed with mouth-watering imagery, with delicious and healthy recipes inspired by a mix of cultures and countries to create recipes with a worldwide influence.
We first discovered Nina through her Feasts of Veg book a few of years back - pages & pages of the most wholesome, comforting and innovative recipes with the focus on creating vibrant vegetarian dishes that not only look beautiful but can be enjoyed at any type of gatherings. We instantly fell in love with Nina’s joyful way of making plant-based cooking fun, sociable and soooo easy! Nina shares a glimpse of her life as an Art Director, her career journey from fashion to food, current go-to recipes, homeware/kitchenware brands she likes to shop, advice for starting up in the food industry & some very exciting plans for the future…
Hi Nina! Tell us a little about yourself, your background & one thing that no one knows about you.. (until now)!
Hi! I live in the midst of Amsterdam with my family and I cook food and photograph for a living. I was born in Sweden and lived in Stockholm until I left to study in London, and then Berlin for a couple of years. I lived in Amsterdam fo the past 15 years and I’ve written for the green cookbooks here. Most people who know me as a chef and cook book author don’t also know that I had two previous careers, I worked in publishing for 20 years and I love books, art, journalism and design. I’m still designing and consulting aside from cooking. I’m happily bringing together my love for food and publishing in my cookbooks.
Why did you decide to start up ‘Nourish Atelier’?
I was inspired to share my vegetable-driven style of cooking when I was working with food magazines in Sweden back in the 00’s. I was the one in the teams who was interested in nourishing, natural and green foods while most food editors were gushing over pulled pork, foie gras etc. Vegetarian and Vegan food wasn’t making the front covers in those days and eventually I managed to convince the editor in chief to let me interview Ottolenghi. This turned out to be a good move because his food elevated the status of vegetarian cooking in the magazine and around the same time, the trend to eat green was exploding, so I felt that my mission was to inspire more people to eat meat and fish free.
When I started Nourish Atelier - as a food and design studio for my publishing clients, I also started a blog and Instagram account to share my own recipes with everyone.. It was so wonderful to receive so much positive feedback and love from around the world.
When did you first become interested in food & cooking? Do you have an earliest food memory?
I was a fussy eater when I was young but that switched into being a very curious eater and a big home cook as a teenager in my parents kitchen. I think my parents love for food made me appreciate and learn to love discovering in the kitchen. My earliest food memories involve a typical family dinner, with mashed potato, gravy and meatballs, very Swedish, just like ABBA and Pippi Longstocking.
I really got into cooking and food when I was in design school. Going to the markets and searching through food stores for interesting ingredients always gave me such a satisfying feeling. I always loved cooking for friends and family.
“Follow your own taste and don't worry too much about trends and algorithms. Today there's an over saturation of perfect food photography but less and less of original and personal expressions.”
What does your typical day look like? Do you have any advice for anyone who would like to follow the same path in food styling and photography?
My days don’t always look a like but on production days there’s a fair amount of planning and prepping shopping, shooting cleaning, and editing. For passionate foodies who wants to make a living creating food inspiration; don’t just don’t copy trendy recipes and exchange two ingredients, try to really find your own creative flair and plan a coherent path for your style of food. It’s also important to be part of a community in these days, connect and make friends with other creatives so you can support each others growth.
I think anyone who wants to work as an independent creative will win a lot with being social and interested in others. Building bonds will help you grow strong in a community. Help others and they will help you. Also don't be afraid of reaching out to people you want to connect with. Becoming friends with people you admire will uplift you. When it comes to the quality of your work, follow your own taste and don't worry too much about trends and algorithms. Today there's an over saturation of perfect food photography but less and less of original and personal expressions.
Prior to working in the food industry, you ran your own successful magazine for a few years. Tell us about your time and your experience in the editorial industry. What challenges did you come up against and what made you shift from fashion to food?
The wonderful side of the editorial industry is that it connects creative talents and provides them with budgets and deadlines so that amazing and inspiring art can happen. The downside is that it’s competitive and not always fair. I enjoyed working with fashion magazines especially with its creative side but I felt that the fashion industry lacked a genuine warmth that is important for me to have in my daily life. Food just has so much positive energy naturally. There’s nothing better than gathering around a table or cooking a really delicious meal for people, food is really a love language that binds us all together.
After graduating I worked with fashion magazines, it was fun for a while and hugely creative, but I didn't find a meaningful purpose in the fashion world. I made a conscious decision to follow my heart, which pulled me in the direction of food so I started to work with food magazines instead. It just clicked, I love working with test-kitchens, food photography and chefs. After the switch I felt like I had come home.
Nina, secretly...(or not so secretly) Have you ever had a cooking/baking disaster?
Haha, plenty, I had a major one just before Christmas, using a vegan egg replacer for my lemon meringue pie, it turned out hard as concrete and tasted like sand!
What are your go to dishes right now? & Do you have a specific recipe from one of your books that you keep coming back to?
I’m really into baked aubergines and mushrooms, so it’s Melanzane or slow baked aubergines on tahini yogurt, or Mushroom Stroganoff for me. I'm also cooking plenty of the hearty meals from my latest book Grains + Greens, the Peanut stew - Mafé is absolutely addictive, and so is the Aubergine Tagine and the Chilli with porcini, beans and kale.
“So many people think that green food is a restrictive diet, focusing on health. Plant-based food can be lush, sophisticated and seductive, all about good flavour.”
How do you balance healthy eating with a busy lifestyle?
By keeping it simple. If you have cooked grains ready; it takes very little time to chop up some greens and veggies for a lush grain bowl. I always keep delicious little extras in the fridge for elevating a simple meal. My most used extras are kimchi, avocado, sea weed, and sun-dried tomatoes. A delicious dressing is also whipped up in a flash (tahini is my go-to dressing).
How do you find the process of creating recipes for the book? Where do you find inspiration?
I find inspiration everywhere and everyday! I often go out to eat, I walk around markets and shops, research and read about food and travel. I’ve also written and shot travel guides for travel magazines, so of course, travel is a huge influence - but I don’t find it neccessary to travel to be inspired. I find that my local surroundings have it all: plenty of beautiful ingredients, places and people to be inspired by.
Aside from all of your food looking absolutely mouth-wateringly delicious, the plates - bowls - dishes that are used for the setting always look soooo good! What are some of your favourite homeware/kitchenware brands to shop?
I collect hand made ceramics from small studios here in Amsterdam. I like Milou Broersen, she has an amazing eye for colour, and Annemieke Boots who's serene style I admire very much. I absolutely love Birdtsang who makes bowls and plates for many restaurants here including for my own restaurant. There’s lots of beautiful ceramics to buy and I think my best spot to find a range of designs is at Merci in Paris.
Biggest misconception about plant-based food?
That plant-based food is more functional than culinary, and so many people think that green food is a restrictive diet, focusing on health. Plant-based food can be lush, sophisticated and seductive, all about good flavour. Of course just like other food, it can be bad for you, overly processed and cooked without consideration.
What does 'being creative' mean to you?
Enjoying the process of discovery and problem solving :)
What is your favourite sweet thing & why?
A cheesecake with lime-mascarpone frosting, preferable with a caramel pie crust. I love the contrast between salty nutty and creamy cool, tanginess. I always want something fresh to accompany more savoury sweet foods like nuts and chocolate.
If someone is visiting Amsterdam for the first time, are there any places you'd recommend to eat?
SO many places! Of course you need to visit my restaurant that we open this summer - Chez Nina
For fancy dining; De Juwelier, De Kaas, Toscanini, Bak, Foer.
For lunch salads, breads and pastry, SLA, Little Collins, Flo's, Food Hallen, Grammes.
What is in store for you in 2022?
We are mainly focusing on the restaurant ‘Chez Nina’ to open this year and a new book!
Thank you Nina! 🥨
Thank You Veronika, very excited to be featured on the journal!
Follow @nourish_atelier on Instagram
Follow @chez.nina.amsterdam on Instagram
