By Marcus Naylor
Bronx Journal Staff Writer
As a young girl growing up in Colombia, chef Nissa Pierson was fascinated with herbs and cooking foods from scratch. Her passion grew into an international business which imports and cultivates organic and sustainable produce, Ger-Nis Culinary and Herb Center, where she is now managing director.
L to R back Keisha, NYBG, Nissa Pierson, Tina DeGraff, Whitney Richardson, L-to-R front Kianna Pierson, Stavin Pierson
In October, Pierson shared her expertise in herbs and cooking with food from various gardens at the New York Botanical Garden Edible Garden Event. “I grew up eating healthy — it is what I am about,” Pierson said. “Processed food is not healthy. Many people do not realize that food comes from the earth.”
The New York Botanical Garden held its second annual Edible Garden exhibit from June to October, featuring 12 different edible gardens — vegetable, herb and fruit. Helpful tips like “For intense flavor, harvest culinary herbs before they bloom” and celebrity chefs like Mario Batali and Martha Stewart illustrated the health benefits of home gardens that are not just beautiful, but tasty as well.
On a sunny Saturday afternoon in early October, Pierson appeared at the event, realizing a long-held aspiration to hold a workshop at NYBG.
“The Botanical Garden is like a sanctuary,” said Pierson who conducted a cooking demonstration as bluegrass music played in the background. For her demonstration, Pierson made Pumpkin Maple Soup with Autumn Spiced Pumpkin Seeds.
“My connection to gardening, the use of herbs, teaching children and adults ignite my work,” Pierson said before the event.
Pierson’s methodology dovetailed nicely with the goals of the event organizers. At one point, she used all the parts of the vegetable, including the pumpkin’s seed in her recipe. “This touched on our key message of using all of the parts of your vegetables from your edible garden,” said Gayle Schmidt, the public education manager of the New York Botanical Garden.
The event also allowed children and young people to explore what foods they enjoyed, she explained. “The children were also there to taste and critique,” Schmidt said. “Introducing them to new foods empowers them to make healthy decisions.”
Pierson said she strives to show children the ease with which they can contribute to the food choices of their planet, “from seed to mouth,” she says, also the motto of Ger-Nis International, based in Brooklyn. “I like planting seeds of ideas in children and adults so they can grow a closer relationship with their food and thus their planet as a whole,” Pierson said. “I am a passionate advocate of organic and fair trade for communities from all around the world. Our commitment (is to support) local chefs, farmers and artisans in their own backyards.”
At the Ger-Nis Culinary Herb Center, the 45-year-old Pierson offers a wide range of recreational cooking and educational classes for adults and children: promoting healthy eating and living habits through hands-on and lecture-style classroom environments.
Ger-Nis International also supports fair trade, giving local farmers such as the Bronx Farmers Market a chance to compete globally in the fair trading of their freshly grown products in the marketplace.
“Our fair trade initiative is in place to educate and supply skills for farmers and people who love cooking the healthy food they grow,” Pierson said. “The Bronx Farmers Market and others like it are key to this era of fair trade and healthy living.”
Pierson refers to herself as an artist in her spring blog for Ger-Nis. “You can be an artist in the way you look at the world,” Pierson said. “Being an artist opens my mind to the creative process in cooking and adds to my joy in sharing my knowledge with others.”
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