My Story

Food is the essence of life, and cooking is how we savor it.

Whether weโ€™re stepping out into the world as young adults or creating a home for our families, cooking often becomes a necessityโ€”regardless of our skills or confidence in the kitchen.

For me, cooking was a skill I didnโ€™t embrace until after marriage. When my children were small, meal preparation was often a juggling act, and Iโ€™d find myself scrambling for dinner ideas during my commute home from work. Cooking felt more like a daily chore than a creative joy.

But everything changed when my husbandโ€™s job took us overseas.

First, we lived in Seoul, South Korea, and later moved to Berlin, Germany. Suddenly, the convenience of Japanese frozen foods and ready-made meals was out of reach. What at first seemed daunting turned into an unexpected opportunityโ€”a chance to explore.

Working with local ingredients sparked my curiosity. I found myself experimenting with flavors, techniques, and dishes Iโ€™d never considered before. Cooking transformed from a duty into a delightful journey of discovery, and my culinary exploration of European cuisine began.

Each of us finds joy in cooking for different reasons. Sometimes, all it takes is curiosity and a dash of adventure to turn a routine task into a creative pursuit. For me, the process is simple: when a dish turns out well, itโ€™s a moment of happiness; when it doesnโ€™t, I try again. Thatโ€™s the beauty of cookingโ€”itโ€™s a cycle of learning, creating, and sharing.

In this blog, Iโ€™ll share my favorite everyday recipesโ€”the ones I truly make and love. Iโ€™ll do my best to explain them clearly, and I hope youโ€™ll find them easy and fun to try.

Donโ€™t have the exact ingredients? No problem! Swap them out for something similar. If the dish doesnโ€™t suit your taste, tweak it until it does. Every family has its own preferences, and I hope youโ€™ll make each recipe your own. Cooking is about joy, not rules, and the kitchen is your canvas.

About Me

After graduating from university and working for a Japanese food trading company, I moved to France to study the language. Later, I returned to Japan and joined a French dairy company, followed by several other French firms.
Eventually, my husbandโ€™s job took us to Seoul, South Korea, and now, weโ€™re based in Berlin, Germany.

Happy cooking! May your kitchen adventures be filled with delicious discoveries and cherished memories. After all, the joy of cooking isnโ€™t just about the meals we createโ€”itโ€™s about the moments we share along the way.

Bon appรฉtit!

Atsuko

Atsuko cooking