Artist Jordan Dymke says collaborating with food icon and cookbook author Julia Busuttil Nishimura was like meeting an old friend.
“A chef is an artist,” Mr Dymke says.
He likes lasagne (“the good stuff— homemade, not store bought”), while Ms Busuttil Nishimura opts for the pasta paccheri (“with summer cherry tomatoes and basil”).
They first meet one winter morning in Melbourne at Ms Busuttil Nishimura’s house, where she prepares her torta paradiso (an Italian sponge cake with stewed plums) for him to try.
The chef and the artist sit together and share stories, talking ingredients, cooking, painting and creativity — and most importantly, how Mr Dymke is going to bring her recipe to life.
Jordan Dymke says his poster with Julia Busuttil Nishimura involved a “completely different mindset” than his regular self-portrait style art (pictured). (ABC News: Matthew Holmes)
It’s then time to take cake to canvas.
The unlikely duo came to fruition thanks to a collaboration between beloved Melbourne culinary poster shop Food For Everyone, and Arts Project Australia (APA).
Celebrating its 50th year, APA is a creative social enterprise that supports neurodivergent artists and artists living with intellectual disabilities, advocating for their inclusion in the contemporary art world.
Jordan Dymke and cookbook author Julia Busuttil Nishimura were like “two peas in a pod”. (Supplied: Brett Walker)
The joint project aims to unite creative minds across food and art, to illustrate cherished local recipes through artwork.
And Jordan and Julia were “two peas in a pod”, which was no surprise, says Food For Everyone founder and artist Gemma Leslie.
“Being a chef and artist are both highly creative practices,” she says.
“They use their own mediums for storytelling, connection and sharing joy.”
Ms Busuttil Nishimura says she was “honoured” to spend time with Mr Dymke, and is thrilled with his portrayal of her torta paradiso.
“It has been such a beautiful and fulfilling experience,” she says, “and it [the poster] is a really lovely representation of me and my recipe”.
Artist Daniel Richardson and chef Julie Blum. (Supplied: Brett Walker)
They were just one of four pairings between the artists at APA and Melbourne-based food icons.
Artist Samantha Ashdown teamed up with specialty grocer Queen’s Harvest to bring to life the vibrant energy of the Queen Victoria Market, and Simon Paredes and cafe Stefanino Panino of Collingwood Yards ignited popular dish the Bologna Panino.
Meanwhile, Daniel Richardson and Cam’s Kiosk head chef Julie Blum revealed trade secrets with their spaghetti Napoli creation.
Ms Blum says that when you’ve been working in food for so long, it’s always nice to “feel like you’re making a contribution or making a difference”.
Cam’s Kiosk head chef Julie Blum, and Stefanino Panino of Collingwood Yards. (ABC News: Matthew Holmes)
Coming into the APA studio, she says, reminds her of the atmosphere at Cam’s Kiosk.
“There is so much joy and creative spirit in the room,” she says.
“It’s what you aspire for when you’re working in a restaurant — you want that kind of energy in your spaces that you work.”
Community at the heart of the project
Community is a core theme throughout the project, which is no surprise given Food For Everyone’s humble beginnings.
Mrs Leslie began the company during the height of the pandemic, initially as a fundraising project.
“I was stuck at home obsessively watching the news, and as I sat on my living room floor, a story came on about the Melbourne public housing lockdown crisis, which saw thousands of residents without access to nutritious and culturally appropriate food,” she says.
The artists display their finished artworks. (ABC News: Matthew Holmes)
While local food charities stepped in to help provide meals, there was still something “sadly lacking” during those years.
“It made me think about how important food was, beyond providing nourishment, but as a means for connection and community.”
Mrs Leslie’s plan was simple.
“I wanted to help put food on the table for those in need while also bringing a little happiness into people’s homes through art.”
Since launching in 2021, Food For Everyone has transformed from a fundraising project into a small business, but remains committed to its charitable roots, donating the equivalent of 10 meals per poster purchased to Australian food bank charities.
And what started out with just Mrs Leslie’s art has since snowballed into collaborations with other artists.
A mutual understanding and respect
When Food For Everyone invited APA to join forces, during Arts Project Australia’s golden anniversary, they couldn’t refuse.
Artwork from the joint project. (Supplied: Amber Fletcher)
“The relationships that have formed and the kind of exchanges that have taken place between the artists and the chefs has been really special, and really magical actually,” says Arts Project Australia executive director Liz Nowell.
“They have a mutual understanding and respect for what each other does”.
And there is a certain Melbourne heartiness to the project, which is the spirit in which the project was conceived, says Ms Nowell.
Samantha Ashdown has been with APA since 1997, and teamed up with specialty grocer Queen’s Harvest, (ABC News: Matthew Holmes)
“We have four chefs from four different food offerings and four artists from the same studio that work together every week but their responses are all so different, that you couldn’t really compare them,” she says.
APA is one of the oldest studios in the world to support artists with intellectual disabilities, with their work exhibited around the world.
Ms Nowell says reaching the 50-year milestone is a “remarkable achievement” for any arts organisation, let alone one that has been “such a trailblazer and so visionary”.
Arts Project Australia executive director Liz Nowell and Food For Everyone founder Gemma Leslie say their collaboration has been “magical”. (ABC News: Matthew Holmes)
And the best thing to come out of the collaboration?
“The relationships formed, and the conversations that are happening across food and arts, which like Jordan said, are creative pursuits,” she says.
The collection between Food For Everyone and Arts Project Australia is available now.
