Issue:
December 2024 | Ask an Associate
In a new series of interviews with FCCJ associate members, Machiko Chiba explains how she revolutionized microwave cooking
Associate member, Machiko Chiba links her global career as a Japanese culinary expert and innovator to good luck, but also her courage in seizing opportunities and taking risks.
“When I look back now, I remember the beginning which was when I combed through the yellow pages of then American telephone directory looking for opportunities in Pittsburg,” she said in an interview with the Number 1 Shimbun. It was the 1980s and Chiba, who had accompanied her husband, a medical researcher, to the U.S. was looking for something to do.
It did not take long. That initial opening has continued to blossom over the past four decades. “Something triggered in me,” Chiba said, referring to the slew of advertisements she found promoting microwave cooking in American society. She was convinced the trend would become popular in Japan, “as everyone follows the United States in most everything”. Trusting her instincts, she promptly enrolled in as many cooking classes as she could while juggling her family responsibilities.
Today, Chiba has taken microwave cooking to new heights. Her carefully developed recipes, including one for a moist sponge cake that takes just two minutes, has won countless fans and laid the foundations for her career as a bestselling author. She now receives invitations to teach Japanese cuisine to aspiring chefs – including those at the Le Cordon Bleu in Paris – and is an advisor to major corporate food services and the Japanese government.
Chiba’s key message is that it is possible to make healthy dishes using a microwave. Her repertoire is huge and continues to grow – from bento and curries to wagashi Japanese traditional sweets. Yet that success came with its fair share of tears, and a lot of hard work. Chiba talked of continually experimenting to discover the perfect cooking temperature for a range of microwaved dishes. Once she had perfected her cooking methods she turned her ceaseless energy to the launch of Cook-zen, her brand of microwavable cooking pots. The product, which comes with a selection of Chiba’s recipes, took almost a decade to perfect and went on to win several awards, including parent tested parent approved, best of housewares at the 2019 U.S. Best of Housewares awards.
Convincing her Japanese investor to produce Cook-zen was another example of how she faced and overcame challenges. “He relented when I kept banging away that nothing can start without taking a risk. Japanese businessmen are generally conservative but I did not give up,” she said. “Following more discussion we later decided to launch a black version aimed specifically at cooking curry, because spices can discolor a white pot.”
As a woman in Japan, where social pressure continues to prioritize family responsibilities, Chiba’s successful career is proof that seizing the moment can bring dividends. Her husband had always encouraged her to follow her dreams, she said, but the effort required to speak out and persuade business partners to come on board was hers alone.
She has expanded her network through introductions to top market players and uses the FCCJ to smooth the path to business success, even if it meant waiting months on end for those efforts to bear fruit.
Her perseverance has paid off. Top Japanese companies continue to hire her to hold workshops and design culinary sessions that include events with global cooking experts. She recently developed a microwave mold for wagashi – an innovation that fits with her philosophy of making cooking easy and special.
During our interview she recounted a story about the time she used a microwave to make curries at the Indian Embassy in Tokyo. “The Indian audience was amazed when the dishes came out in less than 10 minutes, releasing their spicy aromas,” she said.
Chiba collaborates with scientists and academics to deepen her knowledge of cooking. “For me, linking with people is a golden opportunity,” she said, adding that she had never hesitated to put her own money into her projects. “I believe strongly that my work is about contributing to the betterment of food and Japanese society. And it is for that purpose that I focus heavily on opportunities.”
Suvendrini Kakuchi is Tokyo correspondent for University World News in the UK.
