Welcome to my site!
Hi, my name is Rin aka Rin-chan, the author and creator behind this blog. I live in Japan with my amazing husband. This is about my culinary journey thus far.
Childhood
The first step into my culinary journey is that I come from a loving family with four big brothers. Cooking has been a part of my life since my parents both worked when I was younger. And I took charge of some family chores. I saw how my parents worked hard for us and I always wanted to help them to see them happy. This is part of my biggest motivation towards cooking in the first place.
Student days
My second step toward my culinary journey was seeing my family enjoying my cooking. This is what fascinated me and filled my heart. Living on my own as a university student, I pursued cooking more seriously. I gained valuable experience working part-time in a Hawaiian restaurant for six years during my university days. Later, I spent two years as a waitress and kitchen staff in a fancy Japanese-style BBQ restaurant. I learned a lot during those eight years.
While attending my university, I majored in health education. This is because fitness and dieting are a big part of my lifestyle and culture. My major helped me gain basic fundamental knowledge of public health or nutrition. This academic knowledge and fitness lifestyle helped influence what kind of menus to create to serve people who enjoy food and fitness.
Exchange student days
The third step of my culinary journey was when I went to the States for an academic year. First semester I lived in a dorm without a kitchen so I usually got food from the cafeteria. I enjoyed it so much for a couple of weeks. Eventually, I started to miss Japanese food a lot because it was a comfort for me. After the first semester, I found a friend who lived in an apartment with a spare room, and she kindly offered me to stay with her. Now that I have access to a kitchen, I started cooking Japanese food at home. It was not easy to get real Japanese ingredients that were exactly the same. There were no Asian markets nearby, but the meals turned out great. I started to feel and grow a desire that I would love to share my food with the world.
School nurse ~ current
My fourth step of the culinary journey is where I’m at currently. I chose to be a part-time school nurse from a full-timer to grow and pursue my cooking skills by exploring many different recipes and experimenting with my husband. Now I got a chef’s license after passing a culinary exam which I’m so excited about.
Through it all, as you read each step, each footprint along this journey, I want to show that Japanese cuisine not only tastes good but also provides wide-ranging nutrition. And it’s visually appealing for people across the world. It’s also a comfort food as I learned in the States which is important to my culture. I’d like you to know about my culture and enjoy amazing Japanese food as we do. I am more than happy to share my recipes with you.
So follow me as another set of footprints toward this culinary experience together!!! – Let’s start cooking!!!