Darcelle Nesser with her feijoa mural in Main St West, Palmerston North. Photo / Sonya Holm
Darcelle Nesser with her feijoa mural in Main St West, Palmerston North. Photo / Sonya Holm
A fruit shop is like going to an art museum for Darcelle Nesser, who uses art and tart to celebrate her seasonal favourite, the feijoa.
Nesser, a Palmerston North radiation therapist, spends her spare time eating, baking or painting fruit.
“Fruit is the thing that really resonates with me ... it’s the glue that holds the day together.”
After successfully “wall scouting” a blank wall, Nesser has just completed a feijoa mural on Main St West, just up from the roundabout by The Square.
“I spent countless hours just looking at feijoas, just seeing what makes up the pigment. How the different pulps are different sizes and shapes ... it’s an intricate network.”
Nesser says she wants to be that person who “just paints giant fruit all across the country … just to make people think about fruit for a moment”.
Darcelle Nesser with her feijoa mural in its full glory. Photo / Sonya Holm
I caught up with Nesser on George St, where she has painted 20 bollards, including with strawberries and rockmelon, to have a street picnic of her homemade feijoa crumble tart with icecream.
The tart was created with cinnamon, sugar and lemon “to add a bit more sourness” to the filling.
Nutmeg for the crumble, which Nesser says is different every time, with the additions of cinnamon, butter and flour.
The sweet shortcrust pastry was delicate and light, with the three levels of base, filling and topping held together with the delicious creamery of caramelised milk.
For Nesser, baking is another art form and she doesn’t strictly adhere to rules.
“I like to think of a feeling first and then see if I can capture that feeling on to a plate,” she says.
“I think you got a lot of delicious happiness on this plate,” I replied through a large mouthful of tart.
Controversially, Nesser eats feijoas like berries, with the skin on.
“I think of feijoas as like a whole, like a journey travelling to the centre, like every millimetre of that feijoa is a different flavour.
“I like it [the skin] because it’s nutritious ... And I like to appreciate the whole fruit. It adds texture and character to the experience.”
Despite this series being about trying new fruit and vegetables and experimenting with well-known varieties, I’m ashamed to say I responded with: “You make it look delicious, but I’m not convinced.”
Undeterred, Nesser showed me her dragonfruit body art and said she intends to add some feijoas to an existing tattoo.
Darcelle Nesser with her sketchbook drawing of a dragonfruit, which she also has as a tattoo. Photo / Sonya Holm
Further inspiration was provided by Nesser’s recent trip to Tropical Fruit World in Australia, “a wonderland” of more than 500 varieties of fruit.
“There was a lot about history, about how other civilizations have used it [fruit] in their culture way back in the day ... And I just want to reignite that … I want to bring it back.”
After our picnic, Nesser went home to write up the recipe, the “first time writing out the chaos that occurs in the kitchen when I’m baking”.
