Published Magazine
Author
Just One Cookbook Travel Writer and Photographer
Michelin Star Trained
Chef
Why Food?
Food was always an important part of my life – eating with friends, family and creating lifelong memories. However, I never knew it. Whenever I tried to remember a trip abroad or an event, food was always the common factor. I realised the impact it could have on a person’s life. The late nights where my father came home and cooked fried rice or his famous banana fritters… that smell, that joy, and that taste…These are the kind of moments I want to share with the world.
Like many students finishing up school, I felt pressured into going to university. There is an expectation to go to university to achieve a good degree and get a good job, so I ended up studying Architecture at the University of Nottingham. I struggled with my first year and was thinking of dropping out, with my heart knowing that I should be cooking. My mentor advised me to stay and it changed my life completely. I ended up graduating and landed an internship in Tokyo at Shigeru Ban Architects. After half a year, I dropped everything to start studying in a kitchen to pursue my dreams. From there I started working in Daikanyama, Tokyo in a Roppongi restaurant run by a two Michelin star chef, and then in a Michelin starred French restaurant in Northern Japan.
Photo Credit: Keiichi Kureshima
Architect to Chef
I always struggled mentally with the purpose of everything I was doing in life. I lost confidence and faith in myself. I don’t really believe in destiny as such, but everything that has happened in my life has led me to this point.
From scraping through university to landing an internship in my dream country (Japan) to then chasing my dreams of cooking. If I look back at my times of anxiety at university, none of those thoughts came true. If I spent my time not worrying, I could have enjoyed myself a lot more. The future cannot be seen, we have no idea what it will be like so there is no point worrying about something that no one knows.
I decided that I should follow what my heart wants and do the things that will make me happy. I ended up traveling around Japan, meeting incredible people, learning new things, and having the time of my life.
Coffee Roasting
Currently roasting coffee in Sapporo Japan, I never imagined myself in this situation. After finishing up at Aki Nagao, I was at a loss. My heart wanted me to learn about coffee, but I questioned how it would benefit my future. However, it has opened doors to opportunities I would have never imagined.
I believe it’s important to do what you want to do at the moment. I don’t want to have any regrets about not going somewhere or not experiencing something. Nowadays, we are so consumed in the online world, that we often forget what is out there in the world.
Now I want to open my own cafe, roasting my own coffee and cooking my own food that touches people’s hearts.
Combining my love of food, coffee, and Japan, I started writing for various clients worldwide. Utilising my background in cookery, I started writing for an Australian-based website about Osaka delicacies. Creating my own recipes and writing and photographing my own work allowed me the freedom to express my interests in these topics. It provided me with a platform to show people around the world about Japanese food's history, intricacy, and deliciousness.
Within a few months, I began getting offers from magazine companies in Tokyo: Tokyo Weekender and Metropolis. Starting off with various web publications, I soon had multiple printed articles in magazines along with my own photography, such as an Interview with K-1 Champion Nicholas Pettas.
This then led to my most important job at the time: Official Hokkaido Tourism SNS Creator. For one year, I helped promote the Official Hokkaido Tourism social media accounts, photographing and writing about spots across Hokkaido.
Now, I travel around Japan, while working for Just One Cookbook with over 290,000 Instagram followers. I help write, edit, photograph, and create Instagram reels. Alongside this, I do private client work, including bespoke photography sessions, translating work, and modeling.
