The Power of Decaf Coffee with Nespresso in Lyon

For the love of decaffeinated coffee! 

With Nespresso Grand Crus Vivalto Lungo Decaffeinato, Volluto Decaffeinato and Arpeggio Decaffeinato.

Food and coffee are among my big passions in life, so when I was invited to Lyon to see how the two could be combined by Nespresso, it was a tempting offer. I was a bit concerned I might overdose on caffeine with the coffee heavy program but that turned out to be no worry at all – and not because I limited my coffee intake in any way. Getting a chance to see the contestants at the famous cooking competition Bocuse d'Or was a welcome bonus too - especially since Norway ended up winning (sorry for the spoiler)!

First we were off to see what was happening at the L'Atelier Nespresso, the temporary playground set up for wonderful experiences in coffee and food.  

Nespresso has recently launced a new series of decaffeinated versions of some of their Grand Cru coffees, so we had an interesting classroom lesson with coffee expert Alexis Rodriguez on how decaffeinated coffee is made – from quality bean to brew ready cup. A lot of love in picking out the right beans plus the magic help of liquid CO2 or water is apparantly what it takes!



We also got to taste test to see if we were able to tell which coffee was the decaffeinated version, which I failed of course, haha! It was a bit surprising given that Volluto, the coffee we tested, is among my favorite Nespresso coffees but I actually ended up preferring the decaf version. It was sweeter and simply tastier - really convincing me that there are decaffeinated alternatives worth drinking, whether you “have to” or not.

To see the new coffees “in action”, we were treated to some yummy coffee inspired desserts by pastry chef Christelle Brua, made with the Arpeggio Grand Cru coffee in various delicious layers (panna cotta, coffee jelly, ice cream and foam among them). The coffee taste really came through and the dessert ended up as my favorite edible of the day.

Working hard as you can see... Here I'm flanked by Italian food blogger Chiara (left) and German mom blogger and cappuccino expert Claire (right). Also taking part was Brazilian food blogger Rosana and German blogger + chef Steffen of Berliner Speisemeisterei. Quite a diverse and interesting group of food and coffee lovers!

To further showcase the power of coffee and gastronomy coming together, there was also a coffee themed dinner made by eminent chefs Emmanuel Renaut and David Toutain. 

Here are the courses summed up by my iPhone photos from the night - many different variations upon the coffee theme, like salsify with Grand Cru Indriya and mackerel with Grand Cru Vivalto. Some were more intense than others but all were equally intriguing in their playfulness.  


I couldn't resist playing around a bit with the food of course, as evidenced by the first (strategic placement of truffle slices) and fifth image (face rearrangement). However, food at this level is food art in the true sense of the word. Although it's usually a bit more abstract and “adult” than my own pieces I find it really inspiring to behold (and eat!).

In the end, I emerged from the day fully satisfied with the lingering taste of delicious coffee in my mouth while still being able to get a good night's sleep, thanks to the decaffeinated coffees.

Lastly we were taken to the Bocuse d'Or, got to visit the Nespresso area there and witness the chef's in action. The Norwegian supporters were very enthusiastic and the Norwegian chef Ørjan Johannessen won in the end, so all in all it was a very successful trip!

Love,
Ida


Written in cooperation with Nespresso but all opinions are my own of course.

Ranked One of the 100 Most Creative People in Business 2014!

Yay, the American business magazine Fast Company has ranked me as one of the top 100 most creative people in business in 2014. I'm incredibly honoured, humbled and happy of course! The other people on the list range from entertainers (like Jerry Seinfeld) to neuroscientists, fashion designers to app developers, architects and academics - all very cool individuals and causes. See all the winners and my profile. 

I made a special self portrait just for Fast Company, and above you can see how it came to life! 

Love,

Ida

2013 for IdaFrosk

Behind the scenes on my food art work for Castello. 

Wow, 2013 was a very crazy year for me - so many good and surprising things happened all at once. Here's a quick look on some of the main happenings that marked the year.  

January: Got recommended by the Instagram team and went from 10,000 to 35,000 followers in a day. Worldwide attention followed!

From my column in Copenhagen Food Magazine.

February: Started my columns in Foreldre & Barn, Copenhagen Food Magazine and Bokvennen Literary Magazine.

Easter bunnies for Godt.no. 

March: Started my column at Godt.no. 

April: Appared live on BBC Breakfast via Skype. Later on Norwegian Breakfast TV. Turned 100,000 followers. 

May: Spoke at Visueltdagene in Oslo (convention for graphical artists). 

Campaign posters for food recycling in Oslo.

June: Did a campaign for food recycling in Oslo. Did another campaign for a supermarket. 

July: Took leave from my job at Statistics Norway to be a full time food artist for a year. 

My books!

August: Book published in Norwegian and English. Book launch breakfast. Øya festival workshop. Did stuff for Vogue. Had my pictures exhibited at the Day of Photography at the National Museum of Photography in Norway. 

September: Matstreif festival and book festival. Feature on Deutsche Welle. 

Literally cheesy artwork recreations for Castello cheese.

October: Moved to Berlin + book launch in Paris. Did campaign for Castello cheese. Launched my book promo videos. 

November: Did Christmas cookie feature for Norwegian newspaper VG. 

Feature on new ways to make Christmas cookies.

December: Had my photo in a group exhibition in Berlin, Germany. Christmas book giveaway. 

As for 2014? Some exciting things coming up, keep posted. :) 

Love,
Ida 

Video: Halloween horros on the plate!

 

I'm serving you some Halloween on a scary plate, check out my new video and let me know what you think!

The English edition of my book is now officially shipping from Amazon too, take a look here. And have a great weekend of course! 

Love,

Ida

Bokevent i Paris / Book event in Paris

Photo: www.lelabodefif.com.

Forrige uke var det bokevent i selveste Paris, på den kjente designbutikken Colette, med både signering og kurs. 

Last week there was a book event for "Eat Your Art Out" in Paris, at the famous design shop Colette, with both a signing and a workshop. 

Photo: www.lelabodefif.com.

Først var det et lite kurs, denne gangen for barn. Barna var supersøte og veldig entusiastiske, vi hadde det morsomt med å lage matkunst sammen. Bare se på noen av tingene de laget! Se også flere bilder her. 

First we had a little workshop, this time for kids. The kids were super cute and very enthusiastic, we had a fun time making food art together. Just look at some of the things they made! More photos can also be seen here.

Photos: www.lelabodefif.com. 

 

 

Etterpå signerte jeg noen bøker, så morsomt å endelig ha den engelske versjonen tilgjengelig. Blant de som stakk innom var Anne Ditmeyer fra bloggen Prêt à Voyager, hyggelig å si hei.   


  
Afterwards I signed some books, so fun to finally have the English version available. Among those who stopped by was Anne Ditmeyer from the blog Prêt à Voyager, so cool to say hello. 







Dette var min første gang i Paris, så jeg måtte selvsagt gjøre litt sightseeing og smake på de mange kulinariske deilighetene i byen såklart, sammen med kjæresten min. 

This was my first time in Paris, so I had to do some sightseeing and taste the many culinary delights of the city of course, together with my boyfriend.

TIl slutt fikk jeg også litt tid til å spise kake med Julien Pham fra det utrolig kule matmagasinet Fricote. 

Lastly, I also found the time to eat cake with Julien Pham from the incredibly cool food magazine Fricote.

 

 

 

Alt i alt var det et flott opplegg og opphold i Paris, takk til alle som gjorde det mulig. Jeg håper å komme tilbake en dag - og selvsagt å kunne besøke andre byer med boken min. 

All in all it was a wonderful event and stay in Paris, thanks to everyone who made it possible! I hope to come back someday - and of course visit other cities with my book. 

Love,
Ida 

I det siste / Happenings Lately

 

Bloggen har vært stille en stund, men ting skjer absolutt! Jeg lager matkunst til ulike prosjekter, har nettopp flyttet til Berlin (Tyskland), den engelske utgaven av boken vil snart bli sendt ut fra Amazon og pressedekningen av prosjektet mitt fortsetter - for eksempel reportasjen som gikk på satelittkanalen Deutsche Welle nylig, se videoen over. Jeg kommer tilbake med mer oppdateringer her når jeg har kommet meg i orden på mitt nye bosted. 

The blog has been quiet for a while but things are definitely happening! I'm creating food art for various projects, have recently moved to Berlin (Germany), the English edition of the book will soon be sent out from Amazon and the press coverage of the project continues, for instance the feature on the satelite channel Deutsche Welle recently, see video above. I'll be back with more updates here when I've settled in properly in my new apartment. 

Love, 

Ida