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[SCRAPING]
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NIKI NAKAYAMA: When I'm not in the kitchen
or when I'm just being me, I feel
very self-conscious about how to express who I am as a person.
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When I'm in the kitchen and I'm in this realm of just being
able to do whatever I want, I feel
that it's so easy to be free.
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It's so immersive and the connection
feels very deep and very easy.
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When I really want to say something
or when I really want to express something,
it's so easy to do it through the medium of food.
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When I was thinking about opening n/naka
I needed to give myself the space
to do something that I really wanted,
which is a restaurant that did kaiseki style
food and a tasting menu.
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The main idea in kaiseki is to showcase
the freshest seasonal ingredients that
are closest to you and to use the meal
to tell a story of your surroundings.
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In this MasterClass, you will learn the Japanese cooking
techniques that I use to create a kaiseki meal.
I'm looking forward to showing you
how to fabricate some fish, how to steam a dish,
how to make dashi, the foundation
of all Japanese cuisine and food,
and I'm looking forward to teaching you
how to grill over binchotan, how to make some tempura,
and how to cut some sashimi.
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The one thing that you will definitely see
is that Japanese food is made up of a lot of little dishes
which is what makes it so incredibly fun.
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And I think, for myself, with modern kaiseki
and what we're doing at n/naka, it's
always about trying to find and respect what is traditional,
but also finding our own path within it.
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I consider myself someone who really loves what tradition
stands for, but I also believe that tradition
needs to keep moving with time.
And I would love to be able to move it as it changes
and be a part of that versus strictly trying
to preserve tradition, so I'm more of an innovator.
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Traditional kaiseki has such a long history.
Recognizing that, we've decided to do a modern version
of kaiseki because traditional places in Japanese history
do not necessarily have space for women
and in order to counter that we've
decided to create the type of space that
would have space for women.
n/naka evolved to become what it is
today when I met Carole and we began working together.
She really helps me express my vision to our staff
because sometimes I don't always have the right brain
space to communicate as well.
She translates my crazy ideas into practical products.
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What we created at n/naka is influenced first and foremost
by where we are, and California is our backdrop.
Just the fact that we're not in Japan
already means that we're not going to be traditionalists.
If we really want to stick to the philosophy of kaiseki
and honor where we are, that means
we have to showcase this location that isn't Japan.
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So we're definitely influenced by all the produce
that we're able to collect and get.
We're definitely influenced by the products
that come from the ocean.
But we're also influenced by all the cultures
that are coming together in Los Angeles.
I happen to believe that Los Angeles is probably
the best place if you wanted to eat
all different types of ethnic cuisine
because there are so many people that
are coming together and converging in one little city.
It's so amazing.
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I'm Niki Nakayama, [SPEAKING JAPANESE] and this
is [SPEAKING JAPANESE] my MasterClass.
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