Ayesha Nurdjaja, Shuka & Shukette, The Bowery Group

On today's episode of All in the Industry®, Shari Bayer's guest is Ayesha Nurdjaja, executive chef and partner at Shuka and Shukette in NYC, and Culinary Director of The Bowery Group. We are on-location at Shukette, Ayesha’s neighborhood restaurant in Chelsea, which focuses on locally sourced and sustainable Middle Eastern food, and the sequel to Shuka, which she opened in Soho in 2015 with owners Vicki Freeman and Marc Meyer, and earned a devoted following for her vibrant Eastern Mediterranean fare. A Brooklyn native of Italian-Indonesian heritage, Ayesha's entrepreneurial spirit first led her to pursue a business degree at Pace University. Shortly after receiving her degree, Ayesha realized food was her true passion and subsequently enrolled in the Institute of Culinary Education. She has worked at various NYC restaurants including Lidia Bastianich’s Felidia, Bar Artisanal, Picholine and Missy Robbins’ A Voce as well as Il Bordello and Red Gravy in Brooklyn as executive chef. Ayesha is a 2022 James Beard Award Finalist Nominee for Best Chef: New York State. Good luck, Ayesha! (JBFA will be taking place next Monday 6/13 in Chicago, and Shari will be covering the awards with red carpet interviews). 

Today's show also features Shari's PR tip to always break bread; Speed Round; Industry News Discussion on TikTok and NY restaurants; and Solo Dining experience at Laser Wolf, a shipudiya, or skewer house, on the rooftop of The Hoxton Hotel in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Laser Wolf is a partnership between Michael Solomonov and Steve Cook of CookNSolo Group, and Rob Katz and Kevin Boehm’s Boka Restaurant Group based in Chicago.

Photo Courtesy of Ayesha Nurdjaya.

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