Nanna Hammer Tiittanen

BORN HUNGRY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My mother says I was born hungry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like many first-born babies I arrived late and my mother went many days over her due date

(my parents were concerned I would be born on February 29th as it was a leap year).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I finally came out I was so hungry all I wanted to do was eat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My mother says she thinks that is why I love food so much.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since then (my birth) eating has always been a big motivation in my life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You might be tempted to think that would make me a good cook, but I am not.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My passion lies primarily in the eating part.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don't get me wrong, I love a well prepared meal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But I am not picky. In fact, I sometimes even eat stuff that other people find strange.

(Like pasta with cottage cheese, chili and blueberries for example).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I am hungry, I usually don't feel it in my stomach.

I feel it in my chest, as if it was somehow related to my heart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Livret" is the Danish word for favorite food. It translate to "life food".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think a person's livret says a lot about them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Personally, I like food composed of many tastes and textures.

Something where I can taste all the flavors in one bite.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like a salat.

Or a hotdog.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I was a teenager my relationship with food became complicated.

I am not proud of that period in my life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I secretly wished that I could just stop eating.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now I try to find pride in my appetite.

It gives me so much joy to anticipate a meal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes people around me say that they forget to eat.

I guess I can understand how that could happen, but it just never happened to me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I am hungry I feel it a lot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other people I have met even described eating as a nuisance.

That I really can't relate to.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I go to bed I often think about breakfast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not in a desperate way, just because I look forward to it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Breakfast is my favorite meal.

Maybe because I can have coffee with it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I eat my breakfast in silence because I am not a morning person.

I still enjoy it though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think food is for sharing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I share a meal with someone I feel connected to them in a very special kind of way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Talking about the food.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even talking about life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What country's kitchen would you choose if you could only eat that for the rest of your life?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Would you pick a dessert or a precourse at a restaurant? (You have to choose)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do you prefer a sweet or savory breakfast?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One summer I worked as a chef in a pizza restaurant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was super inexperienced.

I didn't even know how to do chop or make a sauce.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My first pizza stuck to the spade and came out shaped like a skateboard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But my boss said he liked me because I cared.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think that sums it up really.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Making food is about caring.

Making food for others is just about the nicest thing you can do in my opinion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One day at the pizza restaurant my colleague made a fish soup that was so good that I almost cried.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes I think about that soup and other extraordinary food experiences I have had.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And I start looking forward to what is to come.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BORN HUNGRY

2025

Nanna Hammer Tiittanen

http://www.nannahammertiittanen.com