Niki Nakayama

Niki Nakayama (born 1975) is an American chef and the owner of Michelin-starred n/naka restaurant in Los Angeles, specializing in modern Japanese kaiseki cuisine.

Early life and career Nakayama was born to Japanese parents in Koreatown in Los Angeles. Her parents worked as fish distributors and divorced when Nakayama was 12. While there, she cooked under chef Masa Sato at Shirakawa-Ya Ryokan, a Japanese country-style inn owned by her cousins that was renowned for its kaiseki cuisine. which served as a fast-casual Japanese restaurant by day and a small eight-course chef's table venture at night. In 2011, she opened n/naka restaurant in Los Angeles, where she works with Carole Iida, who is a partner and sous chef. She has also taught classes in Japanese cooking.

Restaurant and cooking style At n/naka Nakayama serves a multi-course Japanese menu featuring seasonal ingredients and multiple preparation styles that showcase the chosen ingredients. This way of cooking is known as kaiseki. "he courses are structured to showcase ingredients using a sequence of preparations: A raw dish is followed by a grilled dish, then a braised or steamed dish, then a fried dish and so on, from light to heavy to light again. Nakayama's style of kaiseki, which she calls "modern kaiseki",

In 2014, she earned the StarChefs Rising Star Chef Award for her work at n/naka. Also in 2019 n/naka was named to Food & Wines 30 best restaurants in the world.

In 2024, n/naka received one Michelin star, one of four Los Angeles restaurants to lose a star that year. Nakayama stated in response:

Although we are disappointed by Michelin's decision this year, we are grateful that it has given us an opportunity to reflect on what really matters. It is the journey, the highs and lows that shape who we are. This announcement further fuels our determination to keep pursuing the standards of excellence we believe in, and we remain fully committed to our goal of uplifting the human spirit. Bring it on.

Television In 2015, Nakayama was featured on episode four of the first season of Netflix's Chef's Table series in which she discusses her career and the many obstacles she has overcome, as well as the many influences that have shaped her into the renowned chef she has become. She was the culinary consultant for the 2019 Netflix film Always Be My Maybe.

Personal life She married her partner at n/naka, Carole Iida, in 2015.