Umai

Who’s the author? Millie Tsukagoshi Lagares is dedicated to documenting her experience with food. Before authoring her first cookbook, she produced beautiful illustrations and photographs of her gastronomic adventures in London. These hand-drawn visuals would feature in specially curated zines with editions including A Guide to Asian Food in London, Millie’s Guide to Soho, and Millie’s September 2020 Guide to Eat Out to Help Out. Later, her illustrations and photographs depicted her own easy-to-follow recipes, which have proved massively popular on social media.

In 2023, Millie moved from London to explore her mother’s birthplace, Japan, and work on writing a cookbook. She has since taken her social media followers on an exciting journey through traditional Japanese flavours and techniques, inviting them to join in her immersive learning experience, from staging pop-ups around Tokyo to fostering interesting conversations with fellow home cooks and industry insiders in Japan.

What’s it about? In Millie’s debut cookbook, Umai, she explores her relationship with Japan, its culture and cuisine. The book featues 80 simple recipes from her tiny home kitchen in Japan, including her childhood favourites, easy rice bowls for lunch, family favourites and crowd-pleasing classics, as well as light desserts.

Umai‘s recipes are accompanied by Millie’s heartfelt reflections of her time spent travelling around Japan, visiting traditional izakaya, hole-in-the-wall teishokuya, and local bakeries. With stunning photography of dishes and their origins, this book is as appetising as it is beautiful.

Recipes we love: Sui Gyoza (Boiled Dumplings), Amakara Tebasaki (Sweet-and-Salty Chicken Wings), Mentaiko to Potato no Harumaki (Cod’s Roe and Potato Harumaki), Saba Tama Udon (Smoked Mackerel and Egg Udon), Marinated Tomato Somen, Matcha to Choco no Cookie (Matcha and White Chocolate Cookie), and Mitarashi Dango

Perfect for: Home cooks who are new to Japanese ingredients and cooking techniques.