Join me in this conversation with Macrobiotic Chef Mayumi Nishimura. Formerly Madonna’s private chef, Mayumi is the author of over eight cookbooks in English and Japanese including her most well-known cookbook, Mayumi’s Kitchen, Macrobiotic Cooking for Body and Soul. Mayumi describes how her teaching has changed during the pandemic. The demand for celebrity dishes and gourmet food had been replaced with a return to basic principles to ensure good health. She often surprises her students by introducing opposing points of view. She encourages students to adopt the principle of non-credo, meaning “question everything.” For Mayumi, an open mind is essential and preferred over a dogmatic or rigid approach.
Mayumi describes her approach to life and career as unconventional (she splits her time between Alaska, Massachusetts, and Japan when she is not otherwise teaching internationally). She views both Michio Kushi and Madonna as exemplars of this credo, meaning that in each moment they did what was necessary without much regard for convention. They both followed their innate wisdom. Mayumi has cultivated appreciation though her long-time martial arts practices. Unlike what most people think, marital arts is not so much an opportunity to defeat a foe, but to learn how to care for yourself and your partner. Developing this understanding has been an important lesson for Mayumi.
In her culinary classes, Mayumi emphasizes that taking the time to master the simple and minimal can offer infinite possibilities. While a broad repertoire can be enjoyed, it is not essential to make a nourishing, delicious meal. In her book Mayumi’s Kitchen, she uses the term “petite macro,” to encourage people to start where they are - meaning it’s ok to make one small change per week. By encouraging her students in this way, she puts them on the path.
Mayumi believes that macrobiotics offers an opportunity to study yourself. If offers the answers of how to live your life. The pandemic has given her the opportunity to appreciate all the gifts life has offered her and to acknowledge our interconnectedness. Finally, for Mayumi, laughter is the cure and love is the answer – in cooking and life.
Facebook: mayumi.niimi
Instagram: @greenshiso
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Noreen
