Miyabi’s Story

I’m Miyabi, 24, originally from Japan but living in Bristol.

I found out about The MAZI Project during a cooking course with the prince’s trust about a year ago, Melanie came in to talk about MAZI and I’ve been using the services since.

I have always enjoyed cooking and have been passionate about food since I was a child. My grandmother in Kyoto taught me how to cook when I was a child, she taught me that cooking and eating together is a great way for people to get to know each other. It brings people together and lifts everyone’s spirits. Unfortunately, the cost of living meant that I wasn’t able to cook what I wanted. Before The MAZI Project there were times where my meals were just bowls of rice with sauces, which is definitely not what I want to be eating.

The MAZI Project has helped me enjoy cooking again. Being able to choose what I’m eating has restarted my love of cooking and food. It’s also exciting to be able to try new foods without breaking the bank.

All of the recipes are tasty and they’re so varied that I don’t get bored having the same flavours every day. It’s also nice to be able to try foods from other cultures. Having grown up in Japan I’m more used to Japanese food, but with The MAZI Project I’ve been able to try foods from other countries that I wouldn’t have tried cooking otherwise. As a chef it’s also helpful to try making these new foods to develop more cooking skills.

Bristol is getting to be far too expensive. The amount of money that people can earn (especially young people and service industry workers) is not enough to live on. Unless there is a big change soon, projects like The MAZI Project are going to be even more vital to society.

Food insecurity is especially damaging when you’re young and trying to find your place in the world. Especially if you don’t have a safety net, you have to cut costs to make ends meet especially if you have plans for the future. Food should not be a luxury, everyone should have access to food.

Thanks to The MAZI Project, I’m in the process of starting my own business. My dream is to open a restaurant and share foods from my hometown with Bristol and the UK.

However due to unfortunate life circumstances it has seemed impossible until The MAZI project. Before The MAZI Project I did not have enough money to pay the bills and eat well, yet alone work on starting a business.

The MAZI Project provided a space for me to do my first pop up event, helped promote my independent pop up, and have generally been very supportive of my goals.