With their unique concept of recipes using a maximum of five ingredients, they carved out a niche that many were looking for: delicious, healthy, and easy. They now attract more than 1.5 million unique online visitors to their blogs each month, have written over ten cookbooks, and will even be appearing on TV soon! In this interview, we dive deeper into their culinary world and discover how they achieved this.
First of all, who are Elise and Nina?
Nina: Well, I'm Nina, from the lively Brabant region.
Elise: And I'm Elise, originally from The Hague. We met during our Master's in Media and Journalism at the University of Rotterdam. We clicked from the very beginning, probably because we think alike on many things and share the same sense of humor. But we also complement each other very well; Nina is a punctual planner, and I bring the creative chaos.
Nina: And that's been working perfectly for 15 years now! Team Chickslovefood forever, haha.
What kind of cuisine did you grow up with?
Elise: As a child, I loved endive mash the most. Now I'm also crazy about Asian cuisine and get a lot of inspiration from it.
Nina: I was already a fan of spaghetti back then, simple but delicious. Nowadays, Italian cuisine is still my favorite!
How did you come up with the idea to create the - now gigantic - Chickslovefood platform?
Nina: We actually knew nothing about blogging. I was working as a journalist for fashion magazines at the time and saw how beauty blogs were becoming increasingly popular. We loved food, lived together, and often cooked together. At some point, I thought: "This is gold!" I called Elise, who happened to be on a date in Antwerp at the time. That date was such a flop that she sped home. That very same evening, while enjoying chocolate ginger nuts and Nibbits, the idea for Chickslovefood was born. The rest is history!
What do you think is Chickslovefood's 'secret sauce'?
Elise: We dove into a niche that didn't exist yet: cooking on weekdays without hassle. Beautiful cookbooks are nice, but on a busy weekday, you just want healthy recipes with a maximum of five ingredients that can also be on the table in 10 minutes.
Nina: We also stay true to ourselves and always consider what we need in our busy lives. That, and the courage to keep developing, keeps our audience hooked.
Elise: Our first "5 or less cookbook" was a huge success. We went from RTL Boulevard to Koffietijd and signed books every weekend in a different city, from Amsterdam and The Hague to Zeeland and Friesland.
We could fill a bookshelf with your cookbooks. Where do you get your endless stream of inspiration?
Nina: The sheer number of recipes is truly our talent, but also our hobby. That creativity will always flow. What's more beautiful than food?
Elise: Traveling certainly helps too; it always brings new ideas. Both on our own holidays with our husbands and kids, and for a new TV show for which we travel abroad.
Nina: Ooh, that's a scoop! Besides abroad, we also get our inspiration from larger food blogs like Pinch of Yum. I've also had a crush on Jamie Oliver my whole life.
Elise: On the other hand, I'm more of a fan of Herman den Blijker, haha. We also think Francois Geurds is a hero; he's in his food lab with big glasses, discovering all sorts of things. Delicious! And yes, The Bear must also be mentioned. A delightful series. And chef! ;)
What's your favorite go-to winter dish?
Elise: Roasted pumpkin. I could literally eat that every day. With some feta cheese, olives, and some raw vegetables. SO delicious!
Nina: I'm team cinnamon. I prefer to put a whole tablespoon in my apple pie oatmeal, haha. Enjoy!
What are your plans for the future?
Elise: Oh, so much! This year is absolutely crazy. We had a new cookbook and a tear-off calendar planned, but things quickly got out of hand. We got the opportunity to create the "Ontbijtbijbel" (Breakfast Bible) for Carrera. For this, we had to come up with no less than 244 (!) breakfast recipes. The Ontbijtbijbel is even already on the market!
Nina: Additionally, we created a cookbook for Albert Heijn with easy global dishes. That also came as a huge opportunity with a print run of 100,000 copies. So we are anything but idle, and there's much more exciting stuff coming!
Where can we follow you?
Elise: You can find us on all social media channels under @chickslovefood. Additionally, you can find all our recipes on our website chickslovefood.com!
Curious about what a healthy recipe with just 5 ingredients looks like? Try Chickslovefood's stuffed sweet potato! You can find the recipe here.
