Meet Nicole Fani of The Avantgartist in Brentwood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole Fani.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Nicole. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’ve considered myself an artist from a young age and started a career selling my paintings at the age of 23, showing my work in Los Angeles galleries and local art shows. When I learned I was pregnant with my eldest son, I felt the need to take a step back from painting. First time pregnancies can do a number on your outlook, I had concerns about the paint fumes and how it could effect my unborn child. Looking back now, I realize that it was a bit rash and I could have continued on my path, but in doing so it led me down a new creative outlet and path in the culinary arts.

Food had always been a source of happiness and pleasure. Learning the science and technique of how to make food delicious was my new obsession. I had been introduced to Giada De Laurentiis’s cooking show on the Food Network by a close friend. I had started to binge-watch all of her episodes, followed by daily trips to the market and hours spent in the kitchen following her recipes meticulously. I wasn’t working at the moment, I was pregnant and left with all the free time in the day to dive deep into multiple recipes, consuming my every thought.

I started to host “Wednesday night’s with the Avantgartist” an intimate dinner party with close friends and family on a weekly basis. Every week there would be a new theme and dishes from different cultures around the world like Italian, Indian, Japanese, etc. My sister started to make these 15 second short films documenting the cooking process and all the food from each gathering. I began posting them on my Instagram account and received a lot of interest and genuine appreciation of what it was that we were doing every Wednesday night. It became the night of the week I looked most forward to, great food with good friends and family along with learning something new every time!

I spent the next two years developing my own recipes, cooking, filming, posting to Instagram and YouTube. By the third year of my culinary journey, I had decided to collect all my recipes and launch my website www.theavantgartist.com. I was finding my voice by leading cooking classes/demos at Williams Sonoma store locations all over Los Angeles, including the Beverly Hills and Santa Monica locations. This blog has all my love spilled into each dish, being able to share delicious gifts with people is why I started and continue to share recipes on my blog. The blog was also the beginning of my collaborative efforts with some of my favorite brands and companies; Food Stirs, Yedi Housewares, Sadaf Foods, Magic Date Bites, and Erewhon Market just to name a few. My boys have been a big part of my evolvement, they are both avid bakers and love to experiment with food after watching me over the years. Through color and texture along with taste and aroma I like to make people happy by giving them the guidelines to one of the simplest pleasures in life, a good meal. Nothing makes me happier than hearing back from readers who have followed my recipes and loved them. It’s a giant boost in my motivation, inspiring and moving me closer to my goals and ever-changing work.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
This transition from painter to chef was somewhat seamless, both are creative and artistically inclined, the only difference is the medium in which is used. Having passion in what you do can make your work feel incredibly enjoyable and satisfying. Even so, there will always inevitably be moments that are difficult or let downs in your career path. There were a few experiences I encountered that did not go how I would have wanted, but “loosing out” on one thing always led me to situations that were exactly what I was looking for.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
It’s been four years now that I’ve been developing flavors and writing recipes for dishes that feed my soul. I don’t have a specific type of recipe I write, there are no restrictions, no diet plans, just good food. The only constant in the recipes and dishes I create is the use of the best ingredients I can find, organically and ethically grown by my local farmers at the Brentwood and Santa Monica farmers markets. I can’t think of anything more important to good food than great ingredients. I plan on continuing to create new recipes that will excite my readers along with a few special projects in the works with the outlook of expanding and branding the blog.

Something that I find to be incredibly important in recipe development is making the dish multiple times before and after it has been written. I always take great pride in the fact that I will take the time to follow and test out my own recipes 3 to 4 times after I’ve written them up. This ensures that the instructions are easy to follow and will pan out to a delicious dish in the end. I’m a meticulous person, you could even call me a perfectionist, a quality I think is a great skill when honed for the right purposes.

Each recipe I develop incorporates fresh ingredients and whole foods, a multitude of spice blends and fresh herbs. I like to put flavors together that may not always be expected or familiar. The images of the dishes I create are my link into the visual arts. Every time I spread out a flat lay I take meticulous care like I would in my paintings. The overall composition needs to have fluidity and balance while not being completely centered so that it pushes the viewer’s eyes around the image. It needs to be invigorating enough to evoke hunger and excitement, with hopes of motivating the reader to try out that recipe for themselves.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
The greatest push I have received has been from my family and friends as a whole community. They always encourage me to continue on and remind me that I have something valuable to share for the betterment of other’s lives. Any time I would feel unfulfilled or down I am lifted back up by their kind words and unwavering support.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.theavantgartist.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: the_avantgartist

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