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Niki Nakayama
Chef

Niki Nakayama

Famoose for

Adapting Japanese kaiseki dining to seasonal California ingredients at n/naka.

n/naka · n/soto

Born
1975
Birthplace
Los Angeles, United States

More people

Julia ChildMaking French cooking approachable for American home cooks.Gordon RamsayRunning Restaurant Gordon Ramsay and presenting Hell's Kitchen.Anthony BourdainTurning restaurant experience into Kitchen Confidential and television journeys through food and culture.

Niki Nakayama

Niki Nakayama is an American chef whose tasting menus combine Japanese technique with the produce and influences of Los Angeles.

Early life

Food-business family

Her Japanese parents worked in fish distribution.

Training

Studied cooking in Pasadena before spending several years working in Japan.

Career

  1. 2000s

    Azami

    Operated a sushi restaurant in Los Angeles.

  2. 2011

    n/naka

    Opened her kaiseki restaurant.

  3. 2021

    n/soto

    Launched a second venture with Carole Iida-Nakayama.

Selected work

n/naka

A seasonal tasting-menu restaurant.

n/soto

A more informal Japanese dining project.

Modern kaiseki

Structures local ingredients into a carefully paced succession of dishes.

Beyond work

Partnership

Works with her wife Carole Iida-Nakayama.

Music

Plays guitar to decompress away from the kitchen.

Sources & photo creditBiography and career ↗Further source ↗

Photo: n/soto — official chef portrait. Source credit; rights retained by the respective holder · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.