Over the years, Chef Tomohiro Nogami has appeared quietly alongside my journey in bread.

March 2015 — Learning Beyond Home
At the Taipei International Bakery Show

Not every day.
Not always in a formal way.
Sometimes in a kitchen, sometimes at an exhibition, sometimes during a demonstration, and sometimes only in a photograph taken between work and conversation.

But when I look back now, those moments begin to feel connected.

December 2014 — The Day Before Croisserie Opened

From the early years of observing and absorbing, to the later years of carrying more responsibility as a baker, Chef Nogami has become part of my private memory of bread. Not as something loud or ceremonial, but as a quiet reference point — someone whose way of seeing bread continues to stay with me.

July 2013 — The Table That Began as Bread Cuisine
Inspired by 《面包料理的搭配新技法》, I prepared a table where bread met cuisine — a series of flavour combinations created not only to challenge the eye, but to capture the palate. That evening, I invited Chef Nogami and his family for dinner.

In April 2023, I wrote this:

Every time Chef Nogami sees me,
he always says, “There is nothing much left to learn. You already know it.”
But actually, I really want Chef Nogami to know —
I still cannot score French bread well.
I still struggle with crescent-shaped croissants.
I still do not know how to braid bread properly.
Even the scissor-cut technique for brioche is still very challenging for me.

September 2017 — Joint Demonstration by Chef Nogami and Chef Han Sang Baek in Malaysia

These were not words I wrote to sound humble.

They were honest.

The more I work with bread, the more I realise how much I still do not fully understand. A score, a curve, a braid, a cut — even the smallest gesture can remind me how difficult this craft really is.

To others, I may already be a chef, a baker, someone who leads a team and creates his own work.

But in front of Chef Nogami, I still feel like a student.

I still want to watch.
I still want to ask.
I still want to learn.

Maybe when Chef Nogami says, “You already know it,” it is his way of encouraging me. Maybe it is his way of telling me that I have grown. Maybe it is a quiet push from a senior baker who has seen me over many years.

But inside, my answer has always been the same:

I have not finished learning.
Please let me keep watching.

That is why these photographs matter to me.

They are not only records of meetings over the years. They are records of a relationship that has followed my bread journey quietly — through observation, respect, and the wish to keep improving.

Beside Chef Nogami, I am not trying to prove that I have arrived.

I am still learning.

February 2019 — At MOBAC SHOW 2019
Machinery, Materials, Marketing of Bakery and Confectionery Show, Makuhari Messe, Chiba, Japan.

在野上師傅面前，我仍然是學生

這些年來，野上智寬師傅一直安靜地出現在我的麵包旅程旁邊。

不是每天都出現。
也不是每一次都很正式。
有時是在廚房裡，有時是在展會上，有時是在示範現場，也有時只是工作與交流之間，一張匆匆留下的合照。

可是現在回頭看，這些畫面慢慢連成了一條線。

從早期的觀察與吸收，到後來開始承擔更多責任，成為一位需要帶領團隊、創作產品、維持日常出品的麵包師，野上師傅一直像是我心裡關於麵包的一個安靜參照。

不是很高調的影響。
也不是被刻意宣告的師承。
而是一種長久放在心裡的尊重。

2023 年 4 月，我曾經寫下這段話：

野上師傅每次看到我的時候，
都會跟我說：「沒什麼學啦，你都會了。」
其實我很想讓野上師傅知道——
法國麵包，我還割不好。
彎月可頌，我還是會做失敗。
辮子麵包，我還不會編。
就連布里歐的剪刀法，對我而言也還是很有挑戰。

這些話不是故意謙虛。

而是很真實。

麵包做得越久，我越知道自己還有很多地方沒有完全明白。一個割口、一個彎度、一條辮子、一刀剪法，哪怕只是很小的動作，都會提醒我，這門工藝其實很難。

在別人眼裡，我可能已經是主廚，是麵包師，是一位可以帶領團隊、創作產品、承擔責任的人。

可是在野上師傅面前，我還是覺得自己像一個學生。

我還想看。
我還想問。
我還想學。

也許野上師傅說「你都會了」，是一種鼓勵。
也許是一種肯定。
也許是他看著我這些年慢慢成長，所以用很輕的一句話，把我往前推。

可是我心裡真正的回答，一直都是：

我還沒有學完。
請讓我再繼續看。

所以這些照片對我而言很重要。

它們不只是記錄了這些年與野上師傅的相遇，也記錄了一段安靜陪伴著我麵包旅程的關係——觀察、尊重，還有想要繼續進步的心。

在野上師傅身邊，我不是想證明自己已經走到了哪裡。

我仍然在學。

“拿，不要放手，做就會了。”
“Hold it. Don’t let go. You’ll learn by doing.”
Chef Nogami guided me, hand by hand.
Some lessons are not taught with many words.
They are passed from one pair of hands to another.