Cook Healthy & Colorful
Wonderful service, clean restaurants, perfect flavoring, visually delightful dishes, no tipping, just the right pricing, and food that's healthy even if you eat late at night. The level of Japan's food is so high, people wonder “can any other country beat Japan?” Tokyo is home to 234 Michelin-starred restaurants. The quality of Japanese food has been pushed to such heights, and is supported by such broad base, because there are countless diverse “cookery researchers” at work throughout Japan.
Recommending Petit gluten-free life
Yumiko Nakamura
Representative Director, Japan Gluten-free Advisor Association
Health and Beauty Cookery Researcher
Gluten-free - It's one of the diets that is practiced by sports players and overseas celebrities and has been gathering attention. Practicing a gluten-free diet is not just a countermeasure against allergies, or against celiac disease, a condition common in Western countries. It has come to be recognized as highly effective for health and beauty in people in general. I founded the “Japan Gluten-free Advisor Association” and I recommend "Petit Gluten-free Life". I hope people can improve their physical condition by striking a skillful balance while enjoying a gluten-free diet. Eating is something to enjoy ever day, so tasting delicious is fundamental. My gluten-free recipes must have 1) simple processes, 2) easily available ingredients, and 3) reliable reproducibility.
I also aim to develop recipes that are "delicious like hotel food". How can you make food that tastes just as good without using wheat? The more I research the subject, the more I get into how fascinating it is, and by now, I have a lot more recipes and many people are delighted by them.
Feel at ease by enjoying cooking. Say goodbye to cooking stress by using canned and vacuum-packed foods
Mayuko Imaizumi
Representative director, Office RM Co., Ltd.
Registered dietitian
I have two children, aged 20 and 13. I have worked as a registered dietitian for many years, while also protecting my family's health. I feel happy when my family eat the food I cook and say it's delicious, and when I see the children's happy faces. But first of all, I have to be smiling! That's why I want to make meals that I can enjoy cooking without getting stressed. Having plenty of canned, bottled, and vacuum-packed foods in the house, which can be stored at room temperature, makes shopping less of a burden. There's no need to have a lot of condiments. These foods save on preparation time, produce less kitchen waste, and leave less to wash up. What makes me happiest is making recipes that are easy for people of any generation, from children to the elderly, to make, so that even handicapped people say "The menu is really simple, so it's easy to make. I like cooking now". Great flavor that's quick to make and nobody fails with. Those are the recipes that make people smile as they cook them. You can tackle them without stress! Once you enjoy cooking food and get used to it being stress free, there's nothing better.
There is significance in passing things down, and I want to pass the deep culture of fermentation to the next generation
Yumiko Izawa
Culinary expert / Fermented food & organic restaurant producer
The fermented foods that are indispensable every day on our dining tables are nurtured traditionally and handed down around the world.
I want to treasure all fermented foods, which are rooted in the soil of the region they come from, and are culinary culture born from the wisdom of our ancestors. Fermented foods have strong effects for health, and the action of microorganisms and fungi guides these foods to gain the rich flavors which make them delicious. The process itself is a deep and fascinating subject. It is important to take in a wide variety of microorganisms every day, and I suggest recipes that make it easy to do so at the dining table, and deliver synergistic effects. Recipes are often communicated through books or through cookery programs like NHK's "Kyo no Ryori" (Today's Cookery). For example, "Satoyama no Karada ni Yasashii Hakko Restaurant" (Healthy Fermented Food Restaurant of the Village Hillsides), which opened this spring, I produced a restaurant that brings in abundant local ingredients and fermented foods, developed the menu and created a pleasant space. There's an expanse of organic herb garden spreading out before your eyes. You should come to visit "Kamuri" in Ohnan Town in Shimane Prefecture, and breathe the clean air!
Relieve your stress with fragrance in spring!
Mai Morozumi
Food Coordinator
Kampo (Chinese traditional medicine) stylist
Hello. My name is Mai Morozumi, and I’m a Kampo (Chinese traditional medicine) stylist. Japan has four beautiful seasons, but sometimes the changes between those seasons can be hard on the body. I’m going to talk about a diet cure to prevent that kind of slump and turn your health around. Spring is the season when trees sprout and grow higher and higher. People are affected by this season too, so their spirits may rise, or they may become shorttempered, lose energy, or become depressed. May depression is the classic example. Other symptoms, such as eye problems or painful tension in the chest or sides, can easily occur.
What I recommend at such times is pleasantly fragrant food. The best examples are celery, fresh coriander, shungiku chrysanthemum leaves, and mint, which are all effective in restoring mood and stimulating blood flow. Please take plenty of these foods if you’re shorttempered or feeling down. When I get in a bad mood, I eat lots of celery and fresh coriander! Anyone can suffer tough symptoms of spring. Recognize that it’s the fault of the season, and get through it with delicious seasonal food, so you can grow through it like a tree.
