At just 28, Chef Shota Nakajima has racked up an impressive list of accolades in his cooking career which started when he was only 16 years old. He’s recently James Beard nominated for Rising Star Chef of the Year, the prestigious award bestowed upon “a chef age 30 or younger who displays an impressive talent and who is likely to make a significant impact on the industry in years to come”. His critically acclaimed restaurant Adana just celebrated its one year anniversary and the young chef has other exciting new projects in the works as well. We sat down over brunch at Soi last weekend to catch up and chat Seattle food.
BLACK COD NYUMEN turnip, green garlic, mayu
Okay, just a little background – I know you’ve lived back and forth between Japan and the United States and cooked in both – where do you consider yourself to have gotten your training?”
Well I attended culinary school in Japan for a year at the age of 18 and after that went on to work at Kappo Sakamoto for four years, until I was 23. This was a Michelin Star, 20 person seating restaurant with 8 chefs. That’s definitely where I feel I learned about the service industry; the mentality in the kitchen, the perspective and importance of service towards guests. I learned a lot here before returning to the US.
Where did you cook in Seattle before opening your first restaurant, Naka?
The day I got off the plane from Japan I had dinner at Sushi Kapppo Tamura; the next day I was working there. I cooked there for a year before going to work for Madison Holdings who operate Blue C Sushi and Boom Noodle where I learned the business management side of the industry, but I missed cooking so I stared doing catering on the side. It got popular and I got some investors and opened Naka in 2015.
ROOT VEGETABLE SALAD beets and daikon braised with rice water with a miso vinaigrette and black sesame seeds
So you open Naka when you’re 25, close down and rebrand as Adana after a year and a half, which has done outrageously well – what did you change?
Ultimately, we made Adana more casual and more approachable than Naka. I wanted regulars, people I would see all the time and not once every three months. And not just for the business reason but also for the atmosphere – your servers, your managers, your customers, everyone gets to know each other and it kind of becomes a small community. I honestly think that’s just as, if not more important than the food – that service, that vibe that everyone knows each other. At the end of the day what I wanted was a place that was like a second home to people, in a sense where they could come, they can connect with the people but the food is dope too and that we’re doing some cool stuff that you can’t get anywhere else.
FRIED CHICKEN potato, swiss chard, leek, soy
How do you describe the food concept at Adana?
It’s home style Japanese food that your mom would make but “cheffed” up with my take on it; my mom is not gonna take the time to plate a dish like I would.
What are some things on the menu inspired by your mom?
The leek fried chicken – that is straight up my mom’s dish; I didn’t change anything. That’s the one thing we’ve been keeping on the menu. I just felt like there was one thing that should always be consistent.
Do you feel Adana is a better fit for the Capitol Hill neighborhood?
Yeah, it’s a lot more casual and inviting and it’s bringing more people in to the bar too, which is awesome. Naka wasn’t the type of place where you just got walk ins or a bar crowd.
EGGPLANT AGEBITASHI grilled shishito peppers, lime zest and nihau vinegar, daikon
This time last year Iron Chef Gauntlet was just starting to air on the Food Network – how was that experience?
That show was brutal, but in a good way – wake up calls at 5am, you shoot all day ’til 8, then the chefs all go eat and drink after; out until 2am every night and then you wake up at 5 and do it again. It was a great group of people though and I made a lot of friends – Stephanie [Izard], Sarah [Grueneberg], Jason [Dady]- especially those three and especially Jason – I call Jason at least once a week about random stuff. He’s just a really good dude.
So what’s next?
I’m working on a few projects right now and one is opening up another spot. It wouldn’t be another “restaurant restaurant” like Adana; I want to do something more casual, like a dive bar with bomb food or a quick service restaurant. And I can’t say which show, but I did another shooting for the Food Network recently and it’s airing in the next few months. I’m also working on a catering website so we can do more of that with Adana; we are really starting to blow up with catering inquiries.
BEEF TONGUE marinated in kikuni, broccolini, fried tofu
Where are your favorite places to eat in Seattle?
Little Uncle, I go there all the time. I go to a lot of Asian places, Ooink is another one. I love Sushi Kappo Tamura and Taichi [the chef/owner] is such an amazing person. And I have to say Café Juanita because I was just there and that was the best shit I’ve had in such a long time. Things were cut perfect, cooked perfect, just done perfect. I was at Lecosho the other night with Eduardo [Jordan] and they have a late night burger; that burger is SO good.
Thank you Chef Shota for taking the time to sit down with me!
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