Ayesha Nurdjaja

Ayesha Nurdjaja is a James Beard Award Finalist (2022, Best Chef: New York State) with multiple James Beard Award semifinalist nominations. Since 2025, she has been a Titan on Food Network’s Bobby’s Triple Threat, with one of the strongest win records in the history of the show. She is the executive chef and partner at Shuka, the Eastern Mediterranean restaurant in SoHo, and Shukette, its faster, looser, louder sister restaurant in Chelsea, which has been on The New York Times 100 Best Restaurants in New York City list three years in a row.

A Brooklyn native of Italian-Indonesian heritage, Ayesha pursued a business degree at Pace University before realizing food was her true passion and enrolling at the Institute of Culinary Education. She opened Shuka in 2015 with The Bowery Group, earning a devoted following for her vibrant, spice-driven Eastern Mediterranean cooking, and followed with Shukette in 2021 to rave reviews.