Christine S

I work in gastronomy - I'm a fermentation expert and consultant, I know, is that even a thing? Well, I'm proof it is. I use humble lacto-fermentation to bring out unique flavours and uses for lesser loved parts of fruits and vegetables. I love working with scraps and microbes, essentially. Organic, local, seasonal, like all people who really care about food and our planet. I am certainly not unique in this sense. My mix of cultures helps me to infuse not only varying flavours but also philosophies into my cooking (I'm Japanese/British but spent some of my childhood in Italy, live in Switzerland now and am married to a French man). I put this information in parentheses as it's incidental, sort of essential to who I am, but not my defining characteristic, or so I hope.

My approach to art, which is a new endeavour for me, is much the same. I'm inspired by simplicity, perhaps because my brain is so hectic half the time. I used koji to travel through my country's food heritage and now I'm trying to learn about sashiko and other Japanese textile traditions. My mother is based in Osaka and her biggest passion is getting people to breathe new life into beautiful kimonos that have essentially been abandoned. I suppose I get much of my inspiration from her.