About Me

Tuna Toast (n): a thick slice of bread topped with tuna salad and cheese, then broiled until toasty; served at many cafés throughout Japan and a dish close to my heart.

Hi, I’m Anne, and I love all things food related- cooking, eating, trying out new restaurants, reading endless back issues of Gourmet (RIP) and looking at way more food blogs than I’d like to admit.  I tell a lot of people that, being a logical-brained type, food was the thing that opened up a creative side I wasn’t aware I had.  So for that, food, I thank you.

A little bit of history: I was born in Tokyo where I returned to live for seven years after college; now my musician husband J and I live in Los Angeles with our cat Cory who made the trip back from Japan with me (she’s a Tokyo kitty!). I come from a food-loving family which includes my identical twin sister who’s also -wait for it- a food blogger, and she writes about her new life in Ireland here. My parents always cooked for us, and although as a kid I’d complain to my mom that I wanted a bologna sandwich instead of the homemade egg salad she’d pack for me (peer pressure!), I am very happy and appreciative now that they taught me so much about food.

My sister and me. Or me and my sister. I honestly can't tell the difference!

Professionally, I’ve been in some form of entertainment/media for the majority of my career, until last year 2010, when I (like countless others) lost my job due to layoffs.  To be totally honest, it may have been the kick in the pants I needed to finally get out there and try, just TRY, to find something that has to do with food after spending countless hours dreaming about it. I dabbled in catering (by myself- NOT recommended when you’re still in the trying-to-figure-out-what-to-do stages- it’s back breaking and requires 1000% of your heart), interned at a hospitality PR firm just to get some experience and a foot in the door, freelanced for a couple of food-related companies and then, in July of 2011, found a job that allowed me to marry my media background with my love of food, wine and travel at McCue Marketing Communications. It’s been almost a year, and I work with clients ranging from wine regions to upscale inns and hotels (one of which boasts a Michelin star restaurant!) and each day presents a new, fun and exciting challenge. I feel I’ve finally landed in the right place.

Enough about me- please tell me about you! I welcome site suggestions, cooking questions, food rants, humor and pretty much any other comment on this blog as long as it isn’t spam (you’ll be deleted/blocked) or blatantly mean-spirited.

You can email me at tokyoastrogirl at gmail dot com.