How Top Chef's Shota Nakajima Really Feels About Losing The Season 18 Finale

For "Top Chef" contestant Shota Nakajima, winning isn't everything. He did make it all the way to the finale of Season 18, which aired on July 1. He ended up losing to Gabe Erales, whose victory was almost immediately shrouded in controversy due to reports that he had been fired from his Texas restaurant for violating the establishment's harassment policies (via The Washington Post). The accusation was serious enough that plenty of "Top Chef" fans on Twitter thought Erales' title should be given to Nakajima. After the dust had settled from the "Top Chef: Portland" finale, Vulture asked Nakajima about Erales' controversial win, and Nakajima declined to comment. He didn't win the show's $250,000 prize, but he did get some consolation from the $10,000 Fan Favorite award (via Bravo). And the experience of being on the show was a reward in itself, Nakajima said.

"It's just like Dragon Ball Z," Nakajima told Vulture, referring to the video games spawned by the anime TV series. "You get defeated, you become stronger. You realize stuff about yourself, and you love it. You don't do it to win; you do it for the game."

Shota Nakajima came up short on the finale of "Top Chef: Portland" because of a meal that was outside his comfort zone and that included a bad batch of rice (via Parade). Cheftestants don't get do-overs, but Nakajima decided to remake his unsuccessful final meal for his parents, to fix the mistakes he knew he had made (via Vulture). If anything, coming that close to winning just gave Nakajima an appetite for returning to a TV kitchen to compete again. He knows he would have more to offer in that setting. "There are still a lot of dishes I haven't showcased," he told Vulture.

The biggest thing Nakajima got out of his experience on "Top Chef" was the confidence to just be himself. He told Parade he came to that realization during the Tillamook cheese challenge. He went in deciding he would make one of his signature dishes, no matter what the challenge was. "Something clicked when I did the 'Cheddar Five Ways' challenge," he told Vulture. "I think I'm a happier person since then. ... That's the thing I'm most grateful for, becoming a happier person."

Back in Seattle, Nakajima is training new staff at his restaurant Taku, which opened just five days before it had to temporarily close due to pandemic lockdowns. He's bringing his newfound happiness to the job. "I just want to wake up and do what's fun, be a good person, and take care of my staff," he said.