What does it really mean to eat well? In a world full of confusing headlines, fad diets, and convenience food, many of us have lost touch with what healthy, joyful eating can look like. But an article I read by Kaki Okumura titled 'Japanese People Eat Luxuriously, and That’s Why Healthy Eating Is So Easy' (Medium, July 2021) struck a chord with me — and perfectly summed up a food philosophy I’ve quietly followed for years.

This isn’t about restrictive diets or avoiding indulgence. It’s about eating with intention, choosing quality, and making room for pleasure.

5 Refreshing Lessons From Japan’s Food Culture

Okumura’s article outlines a more sustainable, joyful, and balanced way to approach food. Here’s what stood out most:

1. Health and Indulgence Can Coexist

You don’t have to choose between eating well and enjoying what’s on your plate. In fact, in Japan, these two values go hand in hand. Desserts, rich meals, and pastries are part of life — but they’re made with care, savoured slowly, and enjoyed without guilt.

2. Quality Over Quantity

This resonates deeply with my own baking ethos: better ingredients, smaller portions. Why waste your treat calories on ultra-processed supermarket cakes that taste of sugar and preservatives? If you’re going to indulge, make it worth it. Choose the real butter, the freshly ground almonds, the handmade tart shell.

3. Moderation Comes Naturally With Quality

When food is beautiful, flavourful, and well-prepared, you don’t need oversized portions. Japanese food culture prizes portion control not through restriction, but through refinement. When every bite counts, you don’t need to overeat.

4. Eat Slowly and Enjoy the Moment

When food is thoughtfully prepared and visually beautiful, we naturally slow down and savour it. Meals become experiences — not rushed obligations. I’ve found this to be true even in my own kitchen: when I make something special, I eat more slowly and with more gratitude.

5. Consistency Is Healthier Than Perfection

Strict diets often fail because they’re not sustainable. A joyful, quality-first way of eating — one that includes cakes, pastries, and nourishing meals alike — creates consistency. And with consistency comes real, lasting health.

What This Means for My Baking Philosophy

At the heart of my work — whether I’m developing a tart recipe, teaching pâte sucrée (sweet pastry) technique, or formulating a clean-label cake mix — is the belief that food should be:

• Made with intention and integrity

• Flavourful, not overly sweet

• Free from artificial flavours and colourings

• A joy to share and savour

It’s why I teach serious home bakers how to bake smaller batch, ingredient-led desserts with elegance and purpose — not just to cut costs or reduce sugar, but to celebrate baking as an act of creativity and care.

You can have your cake and eat it — as long as it’s a good one.

Ready to Bake With Intention?

If you want to bring more purpose and joy to your baking, explore Faye’s Online Pâtisserie School — a 12-module programme focused on seasonal recipes, proper technique, and clean-ingredient baking.

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