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They say the kitchen is the heart of the home, and this is especially true in the Northcote family home of CIBI co-founders Meg and Zenta Tanaka.
‘At CIBI, we bring food, design and people together, and that’s very much how we live at home too,’ says Meg.
Having previously lived in Collingwood, not far from their popular concept store and cafe, Meg and Zenta found themselves in need of a bigger home after their twin boys, Haru and Shun (now 11) joined older brother Uta (16), taking their family from three to five.
That’s when they came across an older, two-bedroom house with a large backyard that had plenty of potential for an extension.
Zenta, who is also a trained architect, worked on the redesign. The existing property was adapted to make way for three bedrooms and bathrooms, while the new addition contains the open kitchen, a spacious living area with a void above, and a studio upstairs.
‘We started with how we wanted to live: an open space, high ceilings, northern sunlight and a bright atmosphere that makes us feel good,’ Meg adds.
‘Zenta often said that a house could simply be a box, but a generous, airy space. For us, that meant keeping the space simple and allowing our life — cooking, furniture, objects and people — to fill it.’
The resulting renovation exudes an air of minimalism, without feeling overly precious. Concrete floors and expansive windows allow their collection of iconic Japanese designs to take centre stage, including Tendo Mokko timber furniture, Isamu Noguchi’s Akari light sculptures, and delicate, hand-crafted ceramics.
The simple, hardworking, but warm kitchen is another highlight for Meg, who has spent the last few years compiling the recipes for her second cookbook, OSOZAI.
‘We wanted the kitchen to be somewhere people could spend time together,’ she says.
‘The boys have quick breakfasts at the counter on school mornings, and friends might sit there for a late-afternoon drink and something to eat. Sometimes I cook while they eat at the counter, and we keep chatting.’
While the first book brought together the ‘original CIBI recipes’ — in other words, contemporary dishes inspired by Japanese cooking — OSOZAI is filled with the meals that Meg cooks for her family, and the style of food people eat at home in Japan.
I’m so excited to finally share these recipes and encourage people to try them at home,’ she says.
‘They’re part of our daily life, so knowing that another family might enjoy making and eating them together feels very special.’
