It's a great picture.
I saw on your blog that you are or used to be a chef and a baker. I've been curious to ask you about that--where you've worked and what kind of cooking/baking you've done. I have a similar past, but haven't done much of either since coming to Japan.
Those are more passions than a profession. I am actually a financial analyst by trade. I just grew up in a family that loves to cook. So, I eventually ended up picking cooking and baking as a hobby. I actually really just find pleasure in people enjoying the food that I cook and bake for them.
A lot of food that I make tends to be more of the comfort food variety. I hope you don't mind the pictures in this reply but here are some examples of what I normally cook:
I'm sensing that you might have had a more professional background in cooking and baking. I'm also curious to ask what you have cooked and baked as well in the past. Also, what made you decide to move to Japan? I am actually originally from New Jersey in the U.S. but I moved to the Philippines a couple of years ago.
That chicken looks great! And the red velvet cake brings back some memories. I used to work in restaurants that tried to be fine dining in smaller Upstate New York cities. At that time fusion was very popular and cooking with French-based techniques and sauces. I also worked in a French bakery for five years making high-end mousse cakes and chocolates. That was interesting. On my own time, I did a lot of sourdough baking. I had the most fun doing that.
These days, comfort food is my favorite. I don't really like going to overly refined restaurants anymore. I really like big flavor and rustic presentation without any gimmicks.