About

Simone is based in Melbourne, Australia. She has been traveling to various locations in Japan since 2003 and spent the best part of 2007 living in Osaka.

Her interest in, and passion for, sake has evolved from a very early fascination with Japanese culture, and 20 years experience in the food and beverage industry.

Simone holds the WSET Sake Level 3 certification and in January 2018, travelled to Tokyo to participate in John Gauntner’s Sake Professional Course, receiving a Sake Professional certification from the Sake Education Council. In March 2019, she returned to Tokyo to take John Gauntner’s Level 2 course, joining the Advanced Sake Professional alumni.

In 2020, during the COVID pandemic, whilst in Melbourne lockdown, Simone began the Taste with the Toji project (TWTT), an series of online events, in the attempt to keep the sake flag flying high during the global pandemic. The TWTT program of online events fast became a global project (and community) and continues to run to this day. You can read more about it here.

In 2022, Simone was appointed as a head judge of the inaugural Australian Sake Awards, and is now on the ASA committee. In that same year, she joined the team behind the Australian Sake Festival as a consultant and the curator of their educational program. That same year she launched TWTT The Podcast, as an extension of TWTT The Project. Simone hosts the podcast alongside Julian Houseman and Maki Tanaka. Episodes are available to stream or download via Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other podcast apps.

More information about the podcast can be found here.

In September 2022, Simone was awarded the honorary title of Sake Samurai and was lucky enough to attend the inauguration ceremony in Kyoto, (photos below), despite Japanese borders still not being fully open to all travellers due to COVID restrictions. 

In 2023, Simone was invited to take part in the JSS Academy run by Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association.

In addition to her work with the Australian Sake Awards and Australian Sake Festival, Simone continues to work as an independent sake educator, consultant and event host.

More important than any certificate or accolade, Simone simply loves sake, and the people who make it ~ along with it’s rich history and fine craftsmanship.

Her mission is to share the joy, and the stories, of sake and help promote this unique and delicious beverage in Australia and beyond. 

Kanpai!

For more information, contact Sake Mistress.