We have Evi-O to thank for bringing Nigella Lawson into the Artist Collection No.3! Initially we pitched some great local chefs to Evi and she said, “Hmmm, how about we ask Nigella?”.
We laughed...but then one DM later, Nigella was on board.
To celebrate our new collection, we sat down with Evi to ask her about her favourite food memories, what we would find in her fridge and how she went about interpreting Nigella's iconic chocolate cake recipe with her design studio.
Tell us about your approach to your recipe poster for Nigella.
The recipe is one of Nigella’s classic: bold, beautiful and sensuous. It is hard to not picture Nigella when thinking of this recipe and we thought: How do we reverse the process and abstractly represent Nigella through the recipe? We thought the rose petals is the most obvious accent of beauty for this dish and there’s a nice symbolism of a rose blooming at the foreground, just like Nigella’s evolving beauty and inspirations to all of us. The devilish chocolate acts as a swirly stage and colourful pistachios fall melodiously completing this decadent orchestra of taste.
Take us through an average day on your plate. What does breakfast/lunch/dinner/dessert look like for you?
Of late, breakfast is a generous mix of berries and yoghurt, whilst the egg salad from Double Tap Marrickville is in heavy rotation. Dinner is usually the most important meal shared with my favourite people. It could be as simple as a Japanese bento takeaway from local restaurant Miso topped with Donna Hay cookies (now available in delivery form (!)) or a nice bar table at Dear Sainte Eloise chomping down Steak Frites with wine and digestifs that guarantees a good night sleep.
What is one of your happiest food memories?
It has to be the rare ox tongue steak that my Oma used to make me. The Dutch-style dish is served with 3 vegs and sauce, cooked with love! It’s an unusual cut to find where we grew up (Surabaya, Indonesia) and to date it’s still my happiest food memories.
If we were to peer into your pantry and fridge, what are 5 things we would always find?
- Fromager d'Affinois Double Cream French Brie Cheese
- Bret’s Chips
- Ortiz Anchovies
- Berries
- Rivareno Gelato
What do you cook for the people you love?
A bowl of Carbonara – Antonio Carluccio style – or Pesto Risotto, served alongside Burrata and Tomatoes salad and Vanilla Panna Cotta to finish it off.
Do you have a strange go-to midnight snack or weird food pairing that you love?
Chocolate and cheese are deemed weird in most Western cuisine culture but you will see that it’s a killer combination in many Asian desserts. Terang Bulan/Sweet Martabak is the ultimate form of this supposedly odd combination. I dare you all to try it.
What sort of food did you eat growing up?
I grew up on Dutch and Indonesian food. My Oma cooked pannekoek for breakfast, Mum cooked Sup Merah (Indonesian/Dutch-style minestrone) and Mak (Grandma in Chinese) cooked Javanese Chicken Curry. Those memories are the strongest cues to my cultural identities to date.
Nigella Lawson X Evi-O.Studio
Dark and Sumptuous Chocolate Cake
