Tiramisu / Nina Lloyd

I met Nina some moons ago through a mutual friend, and I recently met Ophelia when I worked on two custom frames for her show 'Come, remember', with Areez Katki in July. Nina and Ophelia are two very gorgeous and creative beings, and lucky for me they took my spoons on their recent trip to Italy and made a Tiramisu.

In Italy, they stayed just out of Cefalù on the northern coast of Sicily, they were there during the Autumn months which meant less tourists and slightly cooler weather. Their elevated accomodation was thoughtfully chosen, “favouring large skies and looking over the sea rather than proximity to stuff. It was super restful and beautiful.”

When she was a kid, Nina would watch her Mum make classic 90’s meals like calzone, orzo salads, roast lamb, and lemon tart for her casual catering jobs. Although she was never assigned anything too technical in the kitchen, she was delegated the job of making sauces and dressings, which, like she says, was “genius. It teaches you about flavours, balance and technicality”. It is such a strong, and i'll admit, envious base skill to have been taught at a young age. 

I love Ninas warm approach to cooking, she likes food to feel generous, nourishing, and not uptight. She cooks with instinct and necessity, creating her best meals when there is nothing in the fridge, but admittedly, she lives in fear of never having enough. A natural host, who was taught that food was about connecting, and bringing people together “We always had lost of feasting and sharing of food in my home, its the way my parents socialise and in turn how I learnt to. I love nothing more than feeding and eating with the people I love.”

Thank you so much to Nina and Ophelia for taking the time on your Italian holiday to make this gorgeous tiramisu, and to capture it all so beautifully.