Moreover, he discovered his own bottle of teriyaki sauce named Make Umami. Shota is one of those contestants, and has proved to be a popular hit in the kitchen, having scored several wins in the Top Chef cooking show. (Photo by Rick Kern/Getty Images), Seattle's Top Chef Star Shota Nakajima Is Betting His Fried Chicken Will Fly High, Seattle-based chef Shota Nakajima second from. It seems like he is paying more attention to his career at the moment. pic.twitter.com/xpRubFOCLi. Shota Nakajima came into Season 18 of Bravo's Top Chef with one goal in mind: to make it to the top four. Read Next:Elyes Gabel Wife, Partner, Katharine McPhee, Net Worth. First great food memory? Born in Seattle, WA and starting his culinary journey at an acclaimed sushi restaurant at the age of 16, Chef Shota Nakajima soon set off to Osaka Japan to further understand the art of Japanese cuisine. His sexual orientation is straight. 5. left was a finalist Season 18 of Bravo's Top Chef. Nakajima says one will be of the streets of Japan, and another will be a collage of anime characters like Pikachu. During his talk with Jaymee Sire for the "Food Network Obsessed" podcast, Shota Nakajima spilled the tea on what it was like to work with Guy Fieri. His social media also did not answer any of the relationships related queries. Among such beloved chefs, is the quietly coolest Shota Nakajima. Peter Constantinides is not having an affair with anyone presently. Clearly shows like Top Chef offer a career kickstart, but this time around the stakes feel pretty high. Semifinalist, Rising Star Chef of the Year 2018 . From mise-en-place inspiration to chef insider tips, we're the secret ingredient to your success. His parents and sibling identities are missing as per the source. Shota Nakajima, Dawn Burrell, Gabe Erales in "Top Chef: Portland" finale (David Moir/Bravo) Developing his own meticulous and imaginative culinary detail, and a stringent demand for high-quality, Shota set out to expand Japanese cuisine in the United States by bringing a fresh perspective on approachable Japanese comfort food through his two restaurants, Taku and Adana. We spoke to Chef Nakajima to find out the top 10 things you didn't know about this A-list chef. They've brought in Japanese cuisine master Shota Nakajima and the. 4 min read. Shota took a Cooking major in Japanese Cuisine at the Tsuji Culinary Arts School for a year in 2006 2007. 4. Of many lessons, Shota learned from him, Humble is handsome is the one that he thinks ofall the time. Think of the series as the NCAAs of the culinary world, a slate of 32 chefs competing in a sudden death scenario. Shota is a chef on Bravos Top Chef: Portland. Top Chef is getting well underway, with the help of contestants including Shota Nakajima. On April 16, 2021 (seemingly after the completion of the shooting), Shota cited Top Chef as one of the most fun and also the most difficult thing he has ever done in his career. 9. His annual salary and weekly waring info are missing as per the source. Seattle-based chef Shota Nakajima second from left was a finalist Season 18 of Bravo's Top Chef. He has not shared his personal details with the media. A post shared by Bravo Top Chef (@bravotopchef) Get to know Shota Nakajima! Seattle will have some solid representation on the next season of Bravo's 'Top Chef.' On Monday, February 8, the network announced the slate of contestants for 'Top Chef: Portland,' the show's 18th season, and local culinary star Shota Nakajima is among them. . Have something to tell us about this article? Long before he was a nationally recognized celebrity chef, a finalist and fan favorite on season 18 of Top Chef, and a James Beard Award semi-finalist, Shota Nakajima was just a Japanese American kid with a megawatt smile and more energy than he knows what to do with. Shota added that he wants to be a stronger and better mentor. His social media also did not answer any of the 'relationships' related queries. Bolstad was originally planning on opening the restaurant on his own and tapped Nakajima for consulting help after seeing him beat star chef Bobby Flay on a 2018 episode of the Food Networks Beat Bobby Flay. Ai Nakajima and Tina Baumann are married in Germany, but Japan doesn't recognise that Thirteen same-sex couples across Japan are taking legal action on Thursday against the government,. And, certainly, he is considered a promising contender for the seasons many accolades and of course the whopping US$250,000. Before making his Top Chef debut in 2021, chef Shota had been approached several times about appearing as a contestant on various shows. 3. Add the oxtail stock and the rest of the curry-sauce ingredients. Following his car accident he was then diagnosed with shingles. Rice. [1] Entertaining over 28.4k followers on Instagram (before May 23, 2021), he could also be spotted on his accounts on Twitter and Facebook. [2], Nakajima made his TV debut on Food Network's Iron Chef Gauntlet in 2017, where he was the fourth chef eliminated. Chefs bringing the heat from the West Coast: Meanwhile, back in the restaurant world, Nakajima spends much of his time these days meeting with his seasoned crews at Taku and Kobo, working on research and development. As of 2023, he is 33 years old and he holds a Japanese national identity. Chef Shota Nakajima is a Japanese-American chef who was a finalist on Bravo's Top Chef season 18. He opened Taku, a popular Capitol Hill restaurant focused on karaage, in March 2020, and closed his Japanese restaurant Adana in May of that year. 667 posts. Associated With In 2022, he was a guest judge on Top Chef alongside chefs, Gail Simmons and Tom Colicchio. His exact weight and body measurement are overlooked. And, oh, yeah, he opened a new pizza restaurant called Kbo in Redhooks Brewlab in November 2022. So, who is Shota Nakajima? Seattle native Chef Shota Nakajima (age 28) started in the restaurant business at the age of 16, working in and around Seattle at various Sushi restaurants. There, he continued to hone his skills at Sushi Den in Midtown, before being the exclusive featured chef at Jado Sushi in Harlem. Shota Nakajima is a Japanese-American chef and television personality, best known for competing on the eighteenth season of Top Chef in Portland, Oregon. I want to make one so badly. 7. Shota Nakajima is opening his take on a teriyaki restaurant inspired by flavors he grew up eating in Seattle and Japan at the end of March. Shota opened Adana in 2017, a restaurant that serves Japanese homestyle or comfort food Japanese, as reported by eater.com. In Tsuji Culinary Arts school he apprenticed with famous chef Yasuhiko Sakamoto. [4][5] In 2018, he returned to the Food Network and was featured on Season 16, Episode 4 of Beat Bobby Flay. The Seattle representative owns a restaurant called Taku, a Japanese fried chicken joint slinging takeout in Capitol Hill. #Topchef 23,730 views 1 year ago Learn how to make Japanese curry from scratch with Shota Nakajima This is a chicken version from the finale menu from. On days off from school or after baseball games, Nakajima would eat at Toshis Teriyaki Grill, noting that he missed the restaurants flavors while studying cooking in Japan. While Nakajima did not walk away with the win, he impressed judges with a 4-course meal that included, sashimi 3-ways, octopus karaage with water spinach and burdock root, and beef tongue curry. [12], In February 2022, Nakajima announced he was opening a teriyaki restaurant, Banzai Teriyaki, in Cle Elum, Washington. Early life and education [ edit] Nakajima was born in Japan, and raised in Seattle, Washington. Born in Japan, and raised predominantly in Seattle, Washington, the United States, Shota Nakajima reached the age of 31 on Aug. 25, 2020. Stir lightly. Seeing Shota really come into his own since he was on Gauntlet - its a beautiful thing. Born in Japan and raised in Seattle, WA, when Nakajima was 18-years-old he moved to Japan to study culinary at the Tsuji Culinary Arts School, one of Japan's most prestigious culinary schools. Something went wrong. 1 mentor. According to Food and Wine, the chef hails from Seattle, Washington, where he runs and cooks at his restaurant, Taku. [email protected] | [email protected](646) 478 8282. If I didnt grow up with his kids, I wouldnt be as sentimental about teriyaki chicken.. On the day, Shota was just as much excitement. The bottled sauce is a twist on the teriyaki sauce he loved as a child in Seattle, with jolts of umami from ingredients like nutritional yeast and hints of toastiness from sesame paste. As we count down the days until the premiere of the next season of Top Chef, we can't help but get excited to learn more and more about what each contestant has in store for us. 2.One ingredient you couldnt live without? In November, he was part of 'Rock Your Taco' during the Austin FOOD & WINE Festival at Auditorium Shores in Austin, Texas. Shota Nakajima ( Seattle, Washington ); Executive Chef/Owner, Adana [7] Jonathon Sawyer ( Cleveland, Ohio ); Executive Chef/Owner, The Greenhouse Tavern; [7] Sawyer was Iron Chef Michael Symon's sous chef in his early battles, and later lost to Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakarian in Battle Mint. Theres also some envelope-pushing in the kitchen, experiments that sometimes end up on the menu. From there, his journey brought him to Ginza and Shinjuku, where he worked his way up through the ranks. Soy. Thanking the Bravo Network for an entirely new cuisine and cooking style experience, he also worded: I vividly remember this elimination challenge I remember looking around and seeing and soaking in what all my other colleagues were doing. Cook down . Banzai Teriyaki is a partnership with Eric Bolstad, a mortgage broker who splits his time between Cle Elum and Bellevue. He made the decision to close down Adana after just three years. Nakajima was one of three finalists on this season of Top Chef. While Nakajima plans to go head-to-head with some of the next great culinary talents across America, he's no stranger to television. Since 16, Nakajima has pursued the art of cooking and we wouldn't want to miss his unique take on classic dishes over the course of the new season (via Clubhouse For Chefs). Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. We stopped by Jin Bar to hear more of her incredible journey towards becoming Calgarys Korean comfort go-to. [1] At 18, he moved to Osaka to attend the Tsuji Culinary Arts School[ja], one of the most prestigious culinary schools in Japan. Your chef hero? At age 18 he moved to Osaka, Japan to learn the art of Japanese cuisine from Michelin Star rated Chef Yasuhiko Sakamoto, an experience that greatly changed Shotas perspective on hospitality, cooking and his approach to food. Plus in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, he opened his own restaurant Taku an Osakan Kushikatus concept. According to Food Network, Nakajima appeared on Iron Chef Gauntletin 2017, offering his unique take on Japanese cuisine and challenging anyone who stood in his path. His annual salary and weekly waring info are missing as per the source. Nakajima was born on August 24, 1989, in Tokyo Japan. All rights reserved. I always want to be happy, because if Im not happy, that shows in my work, and my employees see it, and Im not a good boss," he told the Seattle Times. Apart from this, his Tv debut was featured on Food Networks Iron Chef Gauntlet. 10. Sansho Pepper. [11], In late 2021, Nakajima began bottling his own teriyaki sauce, known as Make Umami, and selling it at Taku, Uwajimaya grocery stores, and on Amazon. While many others might have been knocked down by such a loss, Nakajima took the news with stride, declaring that he felt a sense of relief. "Top Chef" Season 18 has placed its chef's hat on a winner: Congratulations to Gabe Erales! [8] He was also voted Fan Favorite of the show. It looked like they enjoyed each others company even when the cameras not rolling. Get a VIP pass to never-before-seen content, exclusive sweepstakes, and much more! But Ive got a rule: Every single time something feels scary or intimating, I sign on, he said. The restaurant, with 38 indoor seats and rooftop bar that fits 90, is in Cle Elum, almost 100 miles east of Seattle by car. We spoke to Chef Nakajima to find out the top 10 things you didnt know about this A-list chef. Following the finale, Nakajima said in an interview with the Seattle Times, that nerves got in the way from a big win. This way, Shota who also worked several other jobs as Culinary Director and Senior Consultant Chef, pulled in an estimated $1 million net worth (before May 2021). After graduation he studied under Michelin Star Chef Yasuhiko Sakamoto before moving back to Seattle in 2014 to start his own catering business, Kappo Kitchen. Bid on one seat (or up to six seats) of only six available tickets for a private culinary experience with Chef Shota Nakajima (Taku, Adana), Chef Sara Hauman of Soter Vineyards in Portland, OR and Chef Byron Gomez of 7908 in Aspen, CO, who met while filming season 18 of Top Chef in Portland! Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. He has since placed as a semi-finalist three years in a row for James Beard's Rising Star Chef of the Year (via James Beard Foundation), as well as developed new takes on Japanese comfort food at his restaurant. Chef Sakamoto. He plans on working regularly at the restaurant and managing its culinary operations, though the restaurant will have an executive chef who will be announced soon. After a win on episode six of the series, Shota reportedly had asold-outcrowd at Taku to celebrate! On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Banzai Teriyaki will be a departure from the neighborhood teriyaki spots Nakajima grew up with, but he respects the creators of the genre. [10] While he was forced to close Adana and Taku during the COVID-19 pandemic, he reopened Taku in May of 2021 as a karaage restaurant. Shota Nakajima HOMETOWN: Tokyo, Japan & Seattle, WA CURRENT CITY OF RESIDENCE: Seattle, WA OCCUPATION/PROFESSION: Chef/Owner, Taku Born in Japan and raised in Seattle, Shota Nakajima began. Chef Nakajimas current relationship status is single. "We are opening Taku for indoor dining this week, so we have a lot going on," said the 31-year-old chef and restaurateur. Also profiled by the Seattle Times, his culinary creations have won raves from the judges during episodes that aired up until now. From there, his journey brought him to Ginza and Shinjuku, where he worked his way up through the . I honestly learned so much from this challenge and its inspired me so much.. 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