From working with celebrity chef Yotam Ottolenghi to cooking for 500 schoolchildren every day and writing her second cookbook, former Snoopy’s chef Nicole Pisani tells Simonne Pace her life in the UK has been turned upside down – for the better.
Maltese chef Nicole Pisani, who quit her job as chef de cuisine at Nopi – a Soho restaurant set up by celebrity chef Yotam Ottolenghi – to prepare dinners for 500 children attending Gayhurst Community School in Hackney, is busy writing her second cookbook, Salt, Butter and Bones, which she hopes to launch in April next year, both in Malta and the UK.
Writing it with Kate Adams, with whom she previously created Magic Soup, the 34-year-old chef says the new book is very close to her heart. As she began writing it, she realised she wanted to come home to Malta and cook, bring people together to share her food and combine the beauty of local ingredients with a little of her newfound knowledge.
Nicole did just that this weekend, as she cooked fish at a pop-up restaurant on the St Elmo bastions in Valletta, during the first in a series of three themed feasts.
“Kate does most of the writing from my scribbled notes and dishes. But the title has been within me since I was a child, when my father used to let me pull out the bone marrow from the beef bones and put it on bread. From the beginning I was drawn to what I believe is the essence of eating – salt, butter and bones,” said the former Snoopy’s chef, who left Malta five years ago for the UK and hasn’t looked back.
“I will always miss Malta. That will never change. Thanks to being Maltese, I am extremely hard-working and have never shied away from a 16-hour shift, three days in a row. I never knew I would excel as much as I did and never thought the journey would be so full and amazing,” said the young woman, who comes from a family of restaurateurs.
“Whenever I go to hug someone and they give me their hand to shake, when it’s raining in July, when swimming is in a basement pool and when I suck on a prawn head and realise I am the only one, I think of home.”
I think cooking for people is a beautiful form of giving
The life of a chef has taught Nicole to sharpen up. “You need to get faster, better and more precise in your trade, be punctual, work hard and not miss a beat. The chef’s game has become so tough, trying to keep up with the latest trends, post on Instagram, know about being sustainable and how to source the best local produce while wowing people with your dishes, sharing your knowledge, creating and learning how to use food to the benefit of your body.”
Writing a book has always been a dream for Nicole as a chef, as she gets to pass down as much information as she can in recipes to make cooking more accessible at home.
“I recommend anyone who feels they have a book in them to follow their dream and write it,” she said.
“For any chef, I think it all boils down to the importance of food in our lives and how we share our passion and knowledge. For me, I wish to bring to light how simple some things really are and to understand that by cooking we are being good to ourselves and the people around us. Sharing a meal is how I connect, whether it is with someone I love or to a crowd. I think cooking for people is a beautiful form of giving,” said the chef who, of all ingredients, is obsessed with kimchee at the moment, putting it alongside basically everything she eats and cooks.
“I was joking with one of my producers that I had not gone as far as adding the fermented cabbage to granola yet but have had it for breakfast with scrambled eggs.”
Considering herself lucky to be working side by side with young children, the chef said Gayhurst would be another project always close to her heart.
“I get told how wrong I am every day by four- to seven-year-olds and I get loads of jumping little heads at the ‘Let’s grate cheese’ command. I think a best thing a chef can do is teach kids,” said Nicole, who one day hopes to build the School of Food in Hackney, a centre for children and school chefs.
As to the life of a chef, she is more than happy with the present for now. So much so that her future fails her completely.