BIOGRAPHY
I am Junko Mine, a native Japanese, who enjoys baking, taking food photography, and making art.  (All photos were taken by me unless otherwise noted.)  While living in California, I earned a Bachelor's Degree in Graphic Design from San Diego State University.  Although I was already baking pastry in Japan for pleasure, it was during this time that I began baking pastry and bread for friends and family, and became more focused on the culinary arts.

My creations use what nature can offer.  Making bread with wild yeast from fruits, plants and herbs is a multiple step process over many days.  Soap from organic material can take as long as one month or more to complete from start to finish.  Miso making takes up to a year or more.  But watching the slow transformation process is extremely rewarding and interests me the most.

After having the opportunity to work in a laboratory with a geneticist, Aimée M. Dudley, doing DNA research with wild yeast, I was excited about the possibility that the strains of yeast we find for the purpose of making delicious bread might also help us understand the processes that cause disease and the solutions that nature has found to prevent them.  That made me more interested in learning about yeast.

I am curious about life in general. I also passionate about learning. Whenever I find opportunities, I am there. It could be about bread making, microbiology for yeast or many other things.  Currently, I live in Seattle. 

INTEREST
food photography / food styling / fermentation / art / baking / farm-to-the table / organic / natural living / aromatherapy

LINK
taro-ya
Aimee Dudley Lab
rakutogama
rika manabe photography

CONTACT
jujulounge@gmail.com