When you visit the @rainbownourishments feed you’ll find it bursting with colour, and rich with detail. Her decadent creations are incredibly inspiring, if a little intimidating! Read on to hear about how she tackles these culinary challenges, where she draws her inspiration and more!
We’re transfixed by the innovation of dishes! What started your cooking journey and what inspires you the most to keep exploring?
Aw, thank you so much! I grew up with parents who owned restaurants so food was always used as a way to help us bond. I cooked from a very young age and have always loved experimenting in the kitchen. These days, I really love discovering new food and flavours and using it as an opportunity to spend time with loved ones!
We also love checking out your feed, as your versatility seems to be endless! Do you have any particularly favourite meals or flavours you enjoy working with?
That’s so kind of you, thank you! Oh, where do I start?! I have a massive sweet tooth but always try to develop new healthy ways of eating my classic favourites and try to discover new flavour profiles. I really love using hazelnuts, berries and chocolate. For savoury food, I have a tendency to make meals inspired by Asian flavours as that’s what I’m most familiar with. I’m not a fan of very spicy food but prefer using herbs/spices and soy/tamari to give an Asian twist to many of my meals.
We can see that you like to get out in nature and to the source of the ingredients you use in your recipes. Is this part of your creative process?
Yes! My food is inspired by everyday experiences including walks in nature, reading about the source of my ingredients and simple conversations with friends.
We love learning about how our expert foodies like yourself use Cocobella in their day-to-day routine and cooking. What’s your favourite way to use Cocobella?
I love having the Cocobella coconut yoghurt with my morning granola and chopped up fruit. Sometimes I’ll use the yoghurt when I make cakes for my business as well! It really lightens up some raw cakes. I love drinking Cocobella Straight Up coconut water, especially on hot days or when I’m travelling, as I find it so refreshing.
If you had to choose one, sweet or savoury? What’s your favourite guilt-free recipe to satisfy that craving?
If I’m not working a lot (making cakes for my business), I prefer sweet! My simple go-to treat is banana ice cream with cacao powder and cinnamon and a touch of almond butter.
Can you tell us a little more about Rainbow Nourishments? When and why did you start your own foodie brand? It seems like the business is involved in a number of interesting projects. Tell us a bit about it all!
I started Rainbow Nourishments as an Instagram account about 3.5 years ago. I was working in the public service in Canberra but wasn’t feeling completely fulfilled so I created an Instagram account to connect with more like-minded people. One year later, I ‘accidentally’ started a cake business. I started making cakes for individuals and for cafes in Canberra. Since then, I created an e-book, have toured parts of Australia to do raw food workshops and hosted pop-up dinners in Canberra. Rainbow Nourishments is now my full-time job and I love it (well most of it haha).
What are 5 things we’d always see in your shopping trolley? Why are they necessities in your kitchen?
Kale – I always try to have greens with lunch and dinner.
Almond milk – because I don’t always have time to make my own and I drink a lot of smoothies.
Frozen blueberries – if I don’t have any fresh fruit, I use blueberries as the fruit in my breakfast.
Canned or dried chickpeas or lentils – wonderful staples for preparing curries, soups and stews.
Bananas – they are so versatile and I use them in smoothies and as a sweetener in my personal baking.
Are you able to share with us your top 3 inspirations on Instagram for cooking ideas?
At the moment, I really love @gatherandfeast, @feastingonfruit and @anettvelsberg.
What tips do you have for people looking to start their own foodie account on Instagram? How much time does it take? What are the pros? Cons?
I would say find a niche within food that you really love and experiment with it. Be genuine, authentic and don’t engage in superficial tactics for the sake of getting more followers. Also, if it’s your thing, be active on Instagram as lots of people just want to connect with like-minded people. It can be quite tiring to get your account off the ground especially with so many algorithm changes these days. However, just remind yourself what is important to you. If you get any set backs, ask yourself why you’re feeling that way and breathe. The best things about having your own foodie Instagram account is having an avenue for creative expression and connecting with other people. The downside is the amount of time it takes. You have to realllly love it to do it.
Do you have any new exciting projects in the works that you can tell us about? What can we expect to see from you in the near future?
I’ve been doing workshops in Australia in the last few years but want to expand to reach my international followers by doing online workshops. I would love to do some more pop-up events in Melbourne and Sydney… and maybe other places in Australia or around the world. However, at the moment, I just want to focus on developing quality recipes and lifestyle/travel content.
