Mirror mirror on your spoon…
…what makes a bite unforgettable?
A loving mouthful. A tricky food.
A taste that changes you.
Hi, I’m June Jo Lee, food ethnographer
Eating is so much more than tastes, trends, and nutrition. Every bite carries stories of care, longing, power, memory, and possibility. Food is both a mirror and a portal. It shows us who we are, and opens paths to the worlds we want to live in.
I work in three connected ways.
Food Ethnographer
Custom Research
I partner with businesses to lead primary ethnographic research grounded in real foodlife, our everyday relationship with food. My work begins with two questions:
How do you want the world to taste?
How do we make more of that?
Through in-home visits, shop-alongs, and deep interviews, I translate lived experience into strategic insight for product development, brand storytelling, and emerging work in health, education, and foodcare.
Wunderland Kitchen
Food Education Pop-ups
I partner with educators, libraries, communities, and mission-driven food organizations to create food culture experiences rooted in real questions people carry:
I don’t know what to eat.
I don’t know how to cook.
I don’t have enough time.
This is not nutrition education or cooking class. It’s the practice of food agency. Through hands-on tasting, making, and storytelling, participants trust their own senses, notice what they’re feeling, and find their way back to delicious.
Readers to Eaters
Children’s Food Books
Together with my co-publisher, Philip Lee, we produce award-winning children’s books that explore taste, culture, and nature.
We believe children already have a relationship with food. Our stories serve as mirrors and bridges, connecting young readers to their bodies, families, and ecosystems.
For us, food literacy begins with noticing, naming, and making meaning from everyday food experiences. We meet curiosity by trusting children to decide how their world tastes.
Ready to explore how food is shaping behavior, culture, and choices? Connect with us