I'm Nina, a chef with a designer's brain and a curious heart, currently based in Helsinki.

My path hasn't exactly been a straight line. I spent over a decade as a designer, solving problems and making things look just right. Then one day I realised I wanted to do all of that but with food. So I enrolled at Perho Culinary, Tourism and Business College, picked up a knife, and never looked back.

I grew up in southern Brazil, where Carnaval and Oktoberfest happen in the same region, so my taste in food has always been wonderfully mixed up. Since moving to Helsinki five years ago, Nordic cuisine has become a huge source of inspiration too. Its simplicity, seasonality and respect for ingredients speaks to something deep in me.

In the kitchen I'm at my best when I'm problem-solving and experimenting. I love fresh, seasonal ingredients and the puzzle of figuring out what to do with them. I'm also deeply passionate about baking and pastry.

Outside the kitchen you'll find me drawing and painting, which honestly isn't that different from cooking. Both are about looking at the world carefully and making something new from what you see.