I grew up in Tokyo in a family in which both my father and mother were great cooks and loved to eat. From childhood, I was spoilt for choice when it came to food.

My father owned a high-end wholesale fish shop at the old Tsukiji Fish Market serving high-class sushi restaurants and ryotei (traditional,  fine-dining restaurants). Every day, he would bring home fresh seafood.

So, I grew up boiling live crabs and octopus, preparing fish and shellfish, and eating lots of delicious fresh seafood while watching my parents cook in the kitchen. We were also lucky to eat out often at restaurants that my father supplied.

As a student, I tried my hand at French cooking in earnest, and for a time I made everything from bouillon to vichyssoise and tongue stew, etc.

Between entering the workforce and getting married, I worked for many years in the film and advertising industries. Although my work was always hectic, I enjoyed countless opportunities to enjoy great food as many of my bosses and colleagues were also foodies.

Outside work, there was also a time when I got seriously into baking. On my days off, after selecting flour, I experimented with making pizza and rolls, bagels, croissants, and baguettes by hand.

I also enjoyed learning much about how to make Japanese food through a tea ceremony sensei (instructor) from Mushanokoji Senke (one of Japan’s tea ceremony styles).

When I got married, we started a family and a new life in Melbourne, Australia. In Melbourne, the variety of fresh produce available is different from that in Tokyo. Suddenly I was able to easily obtain ingredients that were often quite hard to find in Tokyo.

Melbourne is also a big, multicultural city, which has given me many opportunities to come into contact with ingredients and cuisine from many cultures, and expanded my culinary horizons considerably.

And on my husband’s side, his family are also foodies and have introduced me to some beautiful food.

With eating out so expensive, I became passionate about making delicious food at home. I became passionate about cooking.

Like many of you, I guess, we’ve all experienced our share of failures in the kitchen. With that experience in mind, Recipes Come True aims to help you cook delicious food in one go the first time and avoid failure in the kitchen.

The keys to cooking are a good quality recipe, well-prepared ingredients, and a calm mind.
With these in place, you are a cooking master!

I would be very, very happy if we could all share happy moments with great food.