veg out

Born in a small town called Skanör in the south of Sweden, Martin Nordin relished time spent in the kitchen with his mother as a child. “I loved the smells, getting to taste, and listening to the sounds and conversations. But I never helped out with the cooking. I don’t know why. It all started when I was in the military service – I was lucky enough to be a chef on an icebreaker ship for 18 months, where I learnt the basics. And just before that I had moved to my own apartment and had to do my own cooking.”

Having spent most of his adult life in Malmö in Denmark – just on the other side of the water from Copenhagen – Martin spent 11 years at renowned Swedish-founded furniture, homeware and in-store restaurant giant, IKEA, the last three of which were spent as Creative Leader of IKEA Food.

Currently in a freelance capacity, Martin works on various projects related to communications, advertising, food and product development. While his background at IKEA may have played a role in Martin’s burgeoning interest in publishing a cookbook, he attributes it mostly to starting his Instagram account: “I set it up to learn more about how social media works and, in the beginning, I didn’t use it much. But when I started posting food pictures, it all changed,” he reflects.

This, coupled with Martin’s commitment to eating