About me
Hi there,
My name is Nikki. I’m glad you’re here.
For years, I chased big ambitions. I worked as a manager in one company, a team leader in another and in 2021, I started my own business. On paper, it looked perfect. But deep down, it didn’t feel right. What I longed for was a slower rhythm. More intentional and more rooted in the everyday moments that truly matter.
How it started
This year I had the chance to spend two months in Italy. In a small Tuscan village, hidden in a valley beneath Arezzo and not far from Florence. I traded my laptop for a book on permaculture, planted a vegetable garden and even built my own table. But most importantly, I learned what it truly means to cook Italian: with intuition as your recipe and only what the season puts on your table.
Life here has its own rhythm. It showed me that sometimes 'enough' is already more than plenty. And nothing teaches this better than Italian cuisine.
Italians follow an unwritten rule: don’t overcomplicate dishes with too many ingredients. They stay true to the essence of food and never compromise on quality. Seasonality is key. Italian cuisine begins long before cooking, it begins with the quiet act of choosing something real.
It didn’t take long before the idea for The Honest Kitchen popped into my head. A place to experience honest products (straight from the land), discover simple meals (bursting with taste) and share true stories (told by what’s on the table and who’s sitting at it).
How it's going
Fast-forward a few months: this city girl followed her heart, her gut, and her intuition (yes, all three) and moved from Dutch city chaos to the Italian countryside. Dedicated to simplifying the art of cooking and embracing a slower life.
I'm happy to start the greatest food romance of my life here. I’ll share not only my life-changing moments but here you'll also find vintage products, stories and healthy recipes. Because, let's face it: doesn't everybody want to truly enjoy the simple act of being around food?
What to expect next
So yes, I’m a nutritionist. But not the kind that lectures. The The Honest Kitchen is where I share stories, recipes and experiences around food. It’s a place for honest products and real food. And by that I mean ingredients that look the way they should. Products in where you can smell, touch, and taste nature. Unprocessed and home-cooked. With Italian cuisine as my muse, I bring healthy food to the table: seasonal, local, made with love, and filled with nostalgia.
The Honest Table is my way of bringing slow living to your table. I love interiors and mixing vintage with new. My shop is filled with tableware, textiles and accessories that turn your dining space into a place of unhurried moments. Where design, sustainability and atmosphere come together and where food becomes more than just food.
So that’s my story.
What’s yours?
With love,
Nikki