Hi! I'm Marc Matsumoto, a Tokyo-based food writer and recipe developer dedicated to helping everyone become a better cook. I began my culinary career as a private chef for an elite few, but I wanted to use those skills to help more people eat well. Over the past 18 years, I've created more than 1,500 recipes designed to help home cooks cook smarter while feeling more confident in the kitchen. My goal is to give you the tools and knowledge to make good food a natural part of everyday life.
A Few Quick Facts
- Host of Bento Expo (NHK World, 9 seasons)
- Author of Ultimate Bento (Tuttle)
- Recipes featured on PBS Food, The New York Times, Food52, and Food Network
- Collaborated with Hakutsuru Brewing, Hikari Miso, and more
My Culinary Roots
My story starts in a quiet fishing village in southern Kyushu, where I was born. It's where I first tasted vegetables pulled from the earth before sunrise, miso aged through the seasons, and fish I caught with my own hands. That connection to food was fresh, seasonal, and deeply local, and it stayed with me.
After moving across the Pacific, I learned to cook alongside my mother, who taught Japanese cooking classes in our home kitchen. She had a way of turning even the simplest ingredients into a delicious meal, and I learned that cooking well isn't about memorizing recipes; it's about understanding the principles that make them work so you can make good food no matter what's in front of you.
From Silicon Valley to Saucepans
Before I turned to food full-time, I worked in tech, including a stint at Netflix back when DVDs came in the mail. I loved building things, but I missed making things with my hands. That pull toward tangible, creative work eventually led me to pivot to food.
One lesson from my past life still shapes how I cook. In tech, we used iterative testing to improve systems. I take the same approach when developing recipes—testing, tweaking, and refining until each one is consistent, reliable, and delivers maximum flavor with minimal effort.
Why "No Recipes"?
Most recipes tell you what to do, but they don't teach you how to cook. No Recipes is about helping you build the knowledge and instincts that make cooking joyful, creative, and second nature. By breaking down the science and reasoning behind each technique, I want to show you how cooking works and make you a better cook every time you step into the kitchen.
Where I Am Now
Since launching No Recipes, I've shared over 1500 recipes with tens of millions of home cooks around the world—through recipes, videos, and nearly a decade of hosting Bento Expo on NHK World.
These days, I split my time between the test kitchen and creative collaborations: developing new recipes, consulting with food brands I admire, and creating content that bridges traditional Japanese techniques with modern home cooking.
Some days, that means refining a 20 minute ramen recipe or troubleshooting a fermentation project. On other days, it's about helping a brand tell a more authentic story about its passion. After all these years, I'm still learning, still testing, and still just as excited to share what I discover.
Work With Me
I collaborate with brands, publishers, and creators as a recipe developer, food stylist, and culinary consultant. From strategic content creation to advising on product development, I bring deep cross-cultural experience and thoughtful storytelling to every project. If you're interested in working together, get in touch here.
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Happy cooking!
-Marc
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Check out my member site for access to my secret stash of easy original recipes that I cook for my family!
