Born in Japan and raised in Seattle, Chef Shota Nakajima started working in a sushi restaurant at 16. At 18, he returned to Japan to train in Osaka in the art of Japanese cuisine. When he was 20, he set a five-year goal to open his first restaurant. He did (Adana). His next five-year goal was to open a second restaurant. He’s about to (Taku).

At Adana, Chef Nakajima offers rotating tasting menus updated monthly—you can choose three, five, or seven courses. His dishes are meticulously crafted renditions of Japanese comfort food. A la carte dishes are served at the bar along with an impressive collection of Japanese whisky, sake, and Japanese-inspired cocktails. Taku will serve Japanese street food and is slated to open soon at East Pike and Boylston Avenue.

He’s been doing ‘Ramen Wednesdays’ this year (and he doesn’t see it going away any time soon). Why ramen when there are several other ramen shops nearby? He thinks it’s a great way for his team to “learn about ramen, play with it, and have fun.” He wants to continue to teach, hone, and challenge—and his team has come to learn. Throughout our conversation, he emphasizes the importance of doing things well.

Nakajima seeks to create a collaborative menu that incorporates input from his culinary team. He calls it “our menu”. He invests in the people he works with and views one of his roles as a leader as being able to “scout out strengths” and putting his team members in positions to grow and succeed. He talks about humility and wanting to make food that is really good. He’s been to known to ask his chefs, “would you serve this to your mother?”

He exudes passion, excitement, and endless energy and his hard work has paid off in a number of accolades. For the past two years, Nakajima has been a James Beard semi-finalist. In 2017, he competed on Iron Chef Gauntlet. In 2018, he beat Bobby Flay in a tempura challenge on ‘Beat Bobby Flay’. There’s a sense that he’s just getting started.

The restaurant industry is known to have a grueling schedule, but he doesn’t mind the 100-hour work weeks because he feels driven by purpose and truly loves what he does. Despite the (very) long work hours, Nakajima still manages to find time to go squidding, fishing, and foraging in and around Seattle.

What’s next for him? He wants to continue to cultivate a community of chefs and cooks and be able to offer benefits for his team. We’re looking forward to his new venture, Taku, and everything else to come.