Notes from Emiko’s Kitchen

Welcome to Notes from Emiko’s Kitchen!

I am an Australian-Japanese cookbook author, photographer and food/travel writer based in Tuscany for the past 20 years. I went to art school before turning to food writing and I have since written and photographed six cookbooks; Gohan, a cookbook of the Japanese home cooking I grew up with, is my most recent (October 2023) and it swept up the Best Cookery Book award at the Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards in London. Together with my husband, Marco Lami, who is a Tuscan sommelier, we run a natural wine bar and cooking school in our little town of San Miniato — Enoteca Marilu.

Here, I share my food and travel recommendations around Italy (or even Japan), such as this piece on how overtourism is killing Florence’s dining scene, snippets of family life in Tuscany, seasonal eating, historical recipes like Antifascist pasta, cookbook chat, discussions on things that are meaningful to me, such as how to untangle yourself from diet culture, sustainability in food and why finding joy (not fear) in food is so important.

Similar to what I share on my blog and on Instagram, but full of extra insights, deep dives (like this one on the myth of sugar), links and ramblings that don’t fit on either the blog or Instagram, this newsletter is also the first place I announce news such as workshops at our new enoteca and culinary space, Enoteca Marilu, and other things you may want to be first to hear about.

Read more