Ina de Visser is a Dutch-born, Australia-based food professional whose career spans cooking, chef roles, food safety auditing, and training and assessing in adult education. A graduate of our online Nutrition course at The Nutrition Institute, Ina has spent 15 years combined catering for restaurant guests, business and private functions, festivals, families, and hospice patients and staff, and more than eight years training and cooking alongside students in adult education programs. She is also the author of two cookbooks—including “7 Tables” (“7 Tafels”), published in the Netherlands for Oxfam/Novib—and is currently working on her second, a project she began with her late sister.
In this post, we’ll explore Ina’s journey from the Netherlands to Australia, her decades of experience across hospitality, healthcare, and education, and how her studies with The Nutrition Institute have deepened her lifelong commitment to good, safe food practice. Join us as we discover her “North Star,” her favourite recipes, and the lessons she’s learned along the way.
Image Source: Ina de Visser @ina_made_it.
I am Dutch and came to Australia 18 years ago. I am a food-focussed professional, having worked as a cook, chef, food safety auditor, and trainer and assessor. I have run kitchens and catered for restaurant guests, business and private functions, festivals, families, young patients, and hospice staff for 15 years combined, and I have trained and cooked with students in adult education programs for more than eight years.
In these roles, I love sharing knowledge of good, safe food practice, a passion for food, a celebration of food culture, and respect for the people involved—that connection moves everything to a higher level and to the best outcomes. Communication is everything, and food is a universal language that connects with anyone.
My food efforts currently contribute to a cookbook I am writing, my second. My first, “7 Tables” (“7 Tafels”), was published in the Netherlands for Oxfam/Novib. My current book was, and still is, a project between myself and my sister, a spirited speech therapist who passed away nine years ago, just before I took up my position as a trainer and assessor. Since then, work and further Instagram activities have consumed all my time, and I am now looking for a publisher, ideally.
To be a teacher (I used to reassess my own workbooks at seven years old, extra-marking them with a red “well done”); a wildlife filmmaker (these days I do food photography instead); or a cook (stirring grass seeds into self-created mud puddles with a stick outside my grandparents’ house at three or four years old). Well, some of it came true!
I love to learn and understand in detail how things work, and I wanted to sustain my activities around food, wellbeing, and education. I think it’s important to make sure that what you communicate with others is actually true, and that you practise what you preach.
I was drawn to the course to support and update my work as a practical food handler, cookbook writer, and educator. I have always had an ongoing interest and appetite for knowledge about food, nutrition, and science, both to strengthen my own understanding and to make sure that any nutrition information I communicate with others is based on facts.
Yes. I have worked in hospitality, healthcare, customer service, and education, and everything I have undertaken, professionally and privately, has been related to my love of food as a major source of joy, wellbeing, recovery, comfort, and connection.
Image Source: Ina de Visser @ina_made_it.
A typical day involves preparing for a short course delivery in adult training, including grocery shopping for practical sessions and a substantial drive to the location. I work with a new class every time and love seeing how food preparation always brings out the best in everyone. I explain all course content before, during, and after practical activities, exchange new insights along the way, and gather completed assessments and feedback at the end, leaving students happier and with a sense of accomplishment.
I have too many favourites, but recently my slow-cooked ossobuco and vegetable broth was a delight, because it always creates a deep sense of home. Another regular highlight is assembling a poke bowl: it has that great palette of colour, taste, and texture. I love how flexible it is, and how you can play with different varieties of rice, vegetables, and fermented and pickled items. For me, a combination of seafood, nori, and soy dressing is a total winner.
Being outside. My city is blessed with a harbour, beaches, and mountains within reach, and my neighbourhood has a bay and old parks with really old trees. I walk to keep things moving, to organise and settle my mind, and to cook up ideas. I also love, and need, listening to music.
There is a Persian rice dish, tahdig, that I know is irresistible, and I am intrigued and hope to make it soon. I’ll also look into how to further extend a Persian table with the right side dishes.
Image Source: Ina de Visser @ina_made_it.
The actual detail of how things work the way they do, the complexity of the systems—it’s like a complete internal universe of networks and activity, mind-blowing! I love how, even at that scale, different elements support each other to improve outcomes.
Practising, sharing, and learning from culinary diversity. It really opens people’s hearts and minds, in any setting, regardless of circumstance, language, age, place, or time.
It would be changing to a better system of food awareness and education, from an early age, covering food production, its consequences for life and nature, farming methods, and the people involved—and ensuring access to valuable food sources for everyone. Food, and its production, should not be manipulated and abused for financial gain, with people worldwide falling victim to health issues, whether from exploitation, food shortage, food overload, or food adulteration.
Image Source: Ina de Visser @ina_made_it.
Dedicated, loyal, and driven (in the good way, they said!).
To make something out of nothing, and to make order out of chaos—whether it’s reorganising a kitchen workstation or bringing structure and peace to a chaotic work situation or class.
Ina’s journey is a testament to the power of curiosity and connection. Her deep respect for food as a universal language, built on decades of experience across kitchens, classrooms, and communities, has shaped a career grounded in trust, generosity, and a love of learning.
If Ina’s story resonates with you and you’re passionate about making a meaningful difference through food and nutrition, it’s never too late to start your own journey. With the right education, dedication, and a clear vision, you too can transform your love for food into a successful and fulfilling career. Let Ina’s path inspire you to connect with others—one plate at a time.
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