Koumei Nakamura facts for kids

Koumei Nakamura (中村 孝明, Nakamura Kōmei, born November 24, 1947 in Shimabara, Nagasaki, Japan), is a very famous chef. He is most well-known for being the second Japanese Iron Chef on the exciting TV show Iron Chef. Chef Nakamura has worked in many excellent restaurants. These include the Oriental Hotel in Osaka and Nadaman in the Hotel New Otani. He also worked at Nadaman Singapore in the Shangri La Hotel. Later, he became the manager of Nadaman in the Hotel New Otani. Today, he has his own restaurant in Ariake, Tokyo. On the Iron Chef show, he wore a special purple outfit with gold trim.

Becoming an Iron Chef

In 1995, the first Japanese Iron Chef, Rokusaburo Michiba, decided to retire. He had been in a very tough cooking battle. Michiba needed to find someone new to take his place. For two months, there were only two Iron Chefs on the show.

Michiba asked Koumei Nakamura many times to become the new Iron Chef. But Nakamura kept saying no. There were two main reasons for this. First, some traditional chefs thought the Iron Chef show was not serious. This was because Michiba often mixed different cooking styles. Second, other Iron Chefs like Chen Kenichi owned their own restaurants. Nakamura was a chef who worked for others. This meant he had more to lose if he did not win.

Finally, an old friend convinced Nakamura to join. His friend told him that being the Iron Chef Japanese was a very special position. So, Nakamura decided to take on the challenge.

Chef Nakamura's Style

Koumei Nakamura was different from the Iron Chefs before and after him. He was known as a very traditional Japanese chef. This meant he often had to be very creative. The secret ingredients on the show were sometimes unusual for Japanese cooking. These ingredients often gave an advantage to the challenger chefs.

Chef Nakamura also seemed to care a lot about winning. He had a record of 24 wins, 11 losses, and 1 tie. He also had one battle that was called a "no-contest." His bosses at Nadaman sometimes influenced his cooking choices. They wanted to make sure the restaurant looked good on TV.

During his time as an Iron Chef, people often compared Nakamura to Michiba. Michiba was seen as the best Iron Chef before him. Nakamura retired from Kitchen Stadium in 1998 when he was 50 years old. His last main battle was against Toshiro Kandagawa, which he lost. His final battle on the show was the Tuna Battle on February 20, 1998, against Yukio Hattori. Nakamura won that battle. He also returned for Iron Chef Morimoto's one-year anniversary show. This was the Battle Egg on March 12, 1999, which he also won.