Manami Ikeda: A Turning Point for a Small Classroom

2020/10/19

During my university years, I became obsessed with cooking, spending every night in the kitchen making something while looking through cookbooks. I began to dream of becoming a culinary professional and publishing my own cookbook one day. Wanting to acquire a marketable skill, I attended the culinary school "Le Cordon Bleu Daikanyama" to study bread making, which I particularly loved. Invited by a French mentor I met there, I took a job as a school assistant after graduation.

After working there for about three years, I obtained a working holiday visa and spent a year training at a bakery in France. Upon returning to Japan, I began working as a freelance culinary professional following the birth of my child.

My main work involves running bread-making classes and providing recipes to online sites. The classes got on track and were fully booked by the second year, but the situation changed completely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and everything was canceled. Initially, I was anxious, but conversely, the number of people making bread at home exploded. Driven by the feeling that I had to do something, I went through a process of trial and error during the stay-at-home period and began streaming free lessons on social media and offering paid Zoom online lessons. Previously, my students were limited to those within commuting distance, but since starting online, I have been able to welcome students from all over Japan and overseas. The added value unique to online learning—such as providing recordings for review and creating social media communities to interact with other students—has been well-received. We are now in an era where information is available for free at any time. I continue to share information while thinking about how to provide valuable content even for free, so that people will choose my services.

Since I handle all of this work alone, I like that I can immediately implement my ideas and proceed with things I am satisfied with. Above all, as a mother with a small child, the flexibility of my schedule is a major advantage. The paths I have chosen so far have connected to lead me to where I am today, and I am grateful to my husband, who has supported me by my side since our university days.

In June, I was able to publish my first recipe book, "Soft and Chewy Focaccia Without Kneading" (Ienohikari Association), which had been my goal. Although I am still a novice as a culinary professional, I will continue to work hard to provide recipes that many people can enjoy at home. In these rapidly changing times, I want to maintain the ability to take action and jump onto new waves.