Shota Nakajima | |
|---|---|
 Shota Nakajima | |
| Born | |
| Education | Tsuji Culinary Arts School |
| Culinary career | |
Current restaurant(s)
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Previous restaurant(s)
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Television show(s)
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| Website | shotanakajima |
Shota Nakajima is a Japanese-American chef best known for competing on the eighteenth season of Top Chef in Portland, Oregon.
Nakajima was born in Japan, and raised in Seattle, Washington. [1] At 18, he moved to Osaka to attend the Tsuji Culinary Arts School . [2] There, he apprenticed with chef Yasuhiko Sakamoto. [3] He later returned to Seattle and worked for chef Taichi Kitamura at Sushi Kappo Tamura from 2011–2012. [2]
Nakajima appeared on Food Network's Iron Chef Gauntlet in 2017, where he was the fourth chef eliminated. [4] [5] In 2018, he appeared on Season 16, Episode 4 of Beat Bobby Flay . Nakajima won with his signature dish, tempura. [6] [7] In 2020, Nakajima competed on Top Chef: Portland , where he was one of three finalists. [8] He was also voted Fan Favorite of the show. [9] In Season 4 of Tournament of Champions , Nakajima reached the quarterfinals before losing to eventual winner Mei Lin. [10] [11]
In 2014, Nakajima opened a catering business, Kappo Kitchen and later Naka, a kaiseki restaurant, in June 2015. [2] In February 2017, Naka Kaiseki rebranded as Adana. [2] In March 2020, Nakajima opened his restaurant Taku, an Osakan kushikatsu concept, in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. [12] Adana and Taku closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, but Taku reopened in May 2021 as a karaage restaurant. [13]
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. [14] In February 2022, Nakajima announced he was opening a teriyaki restaurant, Banzai Teriyaki, in Cle Elum, Washington. [15] On June 23, 2022 Nakajima said he was no longer part of the Cle Elum project. [16]