A MODERN TABLE

Welcome to my digital kitchen and home. I’m Nina, a chef, recipe creator, cookbook author, and former restaurateur in Amsterdam. I feel incredibly fortunate to work with something I truly love. Cooking, creating recipes, and feeding people has brought so much meaning and joy into my life, and over the years I’ve realised that food is very much my way of connecting with people and the world around me.

I grew up in Sweden in a family who gathered around the table. Food was a big part of how we spent our time together. My father loved working in his vegetable garden, so we often had simple farm-to-table dinners made with his own produce. My mother had a creative streak and loved colourful, expressive cooking. She was very interested in nutrition, colorful wholesome food, and experimenting in the kitchen. It’s funny how I still see both of them in the way I cook today, and the cherry on the cake, the sweet influence: My grandmother Lea loved baking, setting beautiful tables, and making everyday meals feel special. I still remember her cakes and pastries to this day, and I thank her for my love of making good desserts.

While my parents showed us what slow cooking and eating meant, like most Gen X kids growing up in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, we had our fair share of pizzas, burgers, spaghetti and taco dinners, just like everyone else. But some of my strongest food memories are the trips to the forest with my parents, picking mushrooms and berries that would later find their way into our dinners.

Food and eating well has always been one of the biggest passions in my life. It’s how I express creativity and how I care for the people around me: my children, guests, friends, and colleagues. I feel very lucky to have turned that passion into my work.

Over the years, I’ve worked creatively with food in many different ways and settings. I’ve worked in restaurants, been a creative director for food magazines, written my own vegetarian cookbooks, consulted for culinary brands, opened my own restaurant, and collaborated with inspiring people across the food world. Each experience has taught me something new, not just about cooking itself, but about people, culture, memories, and the stories that food carries with it. All of it has shaped the way I cook today, and I still feel there is so much more to learn and explore.

My cooking has always been grounded in balance. I love vibrant flavours, seasonal ingredients, and food that nourishes and supports. I follow a fairly loose 80/20 approach to eating, and for me food should be one hundred percent pleasurable and vegetarian. Eighty percent is centred around slow food and whole foods, and twenty percent is anything goes: a giant mayo sandwich with potato fries and pickles, or a slice of cream-topped cake with cherries.

That is the foundation. From there comes the creative side of cooking and recipe creation, where I draw inspiration from everywhere that inspires me: different cuisines and cultures, art, movies, fashion, nature, travel, and everyday life. I make food from a deeply personal perspective. To me, food is both functional and poetry. It’s one of the most essential and meaningful parts of living.

Join my digital table here.
Bon appétit!
x Nina


Elsewhere

Cookbooks
JAN Magazine
For Consulting & collaborations
hello@nourishatelier.com