About Saishoku-Gohan

What we, Saishoku-Gohan, stand for, and what every recipe is made with in mind.

A note on the name: “Saishoku” (菜食) means plant-based eating. “Gohan” (ごはん) means both rice and everyday meals — the food that sustains us, day after day. Together, Saishoku Gohan is a space for plant-based everyday cooking.

OUR STORY

How Saishoku Gohan began

Saishoku Gohan was born in 2024 — though it had been growing quietly for a while before that.

I was working at a plant-based patisserie in Berlin, making sweets from entirely plant-based ingredients and exploring the connection between food and the environment. It was work I loved deeply. Then, at the end of 2024, I stepped away to welcome our daughter into the world.

She was born in 2025, and everything shifted.

Spending my days at home with her, I kept asking myself: what can I do now — for the animals, for the environment, for the future she’ll grow up in? The patisserie chapter had closed, but the desire to share plant-based food hadn’t. I wanted to create a place where people could find recipes and ideas that felt approachable and real.

That’s how Saishoku Gohan came to be.

I believe that small, everyday choices can make the world gentler. I’m here to help make those choices a little easier — one recipe at a time.

Get to know about the author Saya⇩

Hi, I’m Saya — a vegan pastry chef based in Berlin, Germany, originally from Aichi, Japan.

OUR PHILOSOPHY

What every Saishoku-gohan‘s recipe is built on

01 — PLANT-BASED

Choosing plants, always

Every recipe on this site is made entirely from plant-based ingredients. No eggs, no dairy — not as a compromise, but as a genuine choice.

Choosing plant-based food is one of the most peaceful and accessible things any of us can do for animals and the planet. You don’t need to change everything at once. You just need a recipe you actually want to make.

I hope the recipes here show you that plant-based cooking can be delicious, enjoyable, and completely sustainable as part of everyday life.

02 — REAL FOOD

Whole ingredients, eaten with care

No ultra-processed foods, no unnecessary additives. Every recipe uses ingredients you’d recognise — the kind you can find at your local supermarket.

I’m particularly passionate about fermented foods. Miso, natto, lacto-fermented vegetables, long-fermented bread — foods that take time to make, and repay that time with depth of flavour and real benefits for gut health. Living in Berlin, some of these aren’t always easy to find, so I often make them myself or find good alternatives. Either way, they’re a constant presence on our table.

03 — SEASONAL & LOCAL

Eating with the seasons, buying from nearby

Seasonal produce tends to taste better, contain more nutrients, and place less demand on the environment. Wherever possible, I build recipes around what’s available right now, in this season.

Buying locally also matters — it reduces food miles and supports the farmers growing the food. One of my favourite things about living in Berlin is the weekend farmers’ markets, where I can pick up beautiful local vegetables and talk to the people who grew them.

One thing I want to be honest about: plant-based doesn’t automatically mean healthy. It’s entirely possible to eat a poorly balanced vegan diet, just as it is with any other way of eating. That’s why I think carefully about nutrition in every recipe I create — not just for my daughter, but for everyone at the table. Getting enough protein, iron, calcium, and a good variety of nutrients matters for all of us.

My goal is food that’s genuinely nourishing and genuinely enjoyable. Because a meal that’s good for your body should also be something you look forward to eating.

04 — FOR THE EARTH

Choices that add up

Food is one of the most powerful levers we have when it comes to the health of our planet. What we eat affects land use, water, emissions, biodiversity, and the lives of billions of animals.

I’m not here to be perfect, and I’m not asking you to be either. But I do believe that when people have access to plant-based food that’s genuinely good — food that tastes wonderful and fits into real life — they’ll choose it.

That’s what this site is for.