Niki Nakayama MasterClass Review 2025 : What You Need to Know

Niki Nakayama MasterClass Review: Worth it? As a kid, I loved eating delicious and unique food—but I hated cooking it. There were two reasons: first, I had zero interest, and second, my attempts always failed. Sometimes I added too much salt, other times I forgot the spices altogether.

But everything changed when I moved to a new city for my first job. I wasn’t earning much, so I had to learn how to cook to save money. That’s when I slowly started enjoying the process and experimenting with different dishes.

Over time, I even enrolled in various cooking courses—from cheesy comfort food to Italian cuisine.

While exploring more, I came across the Niki Nakayama MasterClass and decided to explore Japanese food and try something new.

In this article, I’ll share my honest Niki Nakayama MasterClass review and share everything that you need to know about this course from what it offers, what it lacks, and many more.

So read till the end and explore things in detail.

Niki Nakayama MasterClass Review

What is Niki Nakayama Masterclass? A Quick Overview 

Niki Nakayama teaches Japanese cooking in an online course hosted on the masterclass –  A platform known for offering premium quality courses led by industry experts who have years of experience about their craft.

In this masterclass, Niki has shared everything that you need to know about Japanese cooking from how to make dishes like sashimi, tempura, and perfect rice.

Not only this – but she also shared the most important things about Japanese cooking such as pantry essentials, culinary tools  That will help you to make delicious Japanese food without any hassle.

What I liked most about this course is it is designed beginner friendly, meaning you can understand the concept covered in this master class easily, without any hurdle and discover how to blend Japanese tradition with fresh California ingredients.

About the Instructor: Who is Niki Nakayama?

Niki Nakyama is a famous and renowned japanese – american chef known for her own style of cooking called Kaiseki –  It is a traditional Japanese meal made up of many small and beautiful presented dishes.

Talking about her popularity, she gained the widespread recognition for her michelin restaurant  Located in Los Angeles, where she showcases her culinary skill through a modern interpretation of her own method Kaiseki, here is the list of the some of her achievement that you can consider for her credibility 

• Earned two Michelin stars for n/naka in 2019.
• Featured on Netflix’s Chef’s Table in 2015.
• Named James Beard Award finalist for Outstanding Chef in 2023.

In this masterclass Niki has team with her partner and teaches you everything That you need to know to make a tasty Japanese dishes  sashimi, tempura, and perfect rice  And shows you how you can use a simple ingredient and a technique in the right way and make a delicious food with care and respect.

What does Niki Nakayama Masterclass course cover?

Niki Nakayama Masterclass consists of 18 video lessons with a total duration of 4hr and 7 min, where each lesson teaches you the different and important concepts of making delicious Japanese food from knowing about the culinary tools and the ingredients you need.

Here, I have shared the detailed and in depth overview of each of the lessons helping you to understand what you can expect from this course.

Part 1: Introduction to Niki and Kaiseki Cooking

Unlike any other masterclass – this course also starts with an introduction where Niki shares her journey of how she became one of the most celebrated chefs known for her own method of cooking techniques called Kaiseki.

Furthermore, you will also understand the importance of storytelling in cooking and how food can express your emotion and the culture.

Part 2: Japanese Ingredients and Tools

This section is all about understanding the essential ingredient and the tool that you need to make a delicious Japanese food that includes kombu, bonito flakes, and miso. 

To be specific, some of the tools that you use while making these japanese food are sharp knives,  Chopsticks steamers and you will understand how to use them properly with care and respect.

Part 3: Mastering Fish and Dashi

This is one of my favourite parts, where you will see the hands-on techniques of how to clean and prepare a whole rockfish making sure that nothing is wasted.

Moreover, you will also learn how to make  Ichiban Dashi –   It is a light and flavourful broth that is the base of many Japanese dishes along with you will also get to know how you tune for the different dishes such as Sashimi and grilling.

Lastly, she explains about the importance of knife skills, freshness, using the right ingredient to get the best part of whatever you make using the techniques explained in this course.

Part 4: Cooking the Kaiseki Way

Here, you will get a deeper understanding about her own way of cooking called Kaiseki and using her method you will learn how to make the different dishes such as Zukuri, owan, Yakimono, Mushimono and the agemono and many more.

Furthermore, you will also discover how each dish is chosen and how it brings overall balance to the full meal. You will get to know how flavour,  Texture and colors are carefully planned to create harmony on the table.

Part 5: The Heart of Japanese Dining

This is the last and the final part of this masterclass where you will get to know how to give me the final and finishing touch to your Kaiseki meal.  Additionally, she also teaches you the traditional way to cook rice, which includes rice and pickles that are served at the end of the meal.

Moreover, she also explained the concepts of Ichigo Ichie, that I liked the most – it means “one time, one meeting” that gives a beautiful reminder that each food is unique and contains the unique flavour.

Overall, you will get to know that Japanese food is all about connects and gratitude and making each experience meaningful.

How Did the Niki Nakayama MasterClass Help Me?

To be honest, it took me two days to complete this course along with taking notes—one thing I can confidently say is that this course changed my approach toward cooking. To be specific, I enjoyed learning how to slice sashimi and prepare dashi, and the rockfish lesson was my favorite.

Niki and Carole explained everything in this course in a simple manner that anyone can follow easily without any hurdles. In addition, they made the Kaiseki cooking method easy to understand—even for beginners like me.

Furthermore, what impressed me the most is the way they focused on Japanese culture, like using seasonal ingredients and cooking with gratitude. In essence, the video quality is high, explaining each step clearly so that you can follow it easily.

However, some of the ingredients used in a few dishes—like fresh kombu or special fish—were hard to find in my location. So I had to find a few substitutes, and the workbook felt a bit too simple. I wish it had more tips, especially on where to get ingredients. But overall, I liked this course. It is super practical, helpful, and easy to follow.

How Much Does the Niki Nakayama Masterclass Cost?

The cost of Niki Nakayama Masterclass depends on the plan you want to subscribe to and it totally depends on your budget and the preferences currently the masterclass offers the three plans for their customer that you can choose based upon your need and requirement. Here is the complete breakdown.

• Standard Plan: $15/month (billed annually at $180), allowing access on one device.
• Plus Plan: $20/month (billed annually at $240), supporting two devices and offline downloads.
• Premium Plan: $23/month (billed annually at $276), allowing six devices.

Note : Keep in mind that all the above plans are billed annually, I know may seems costly but from my personal experience this amount in completely worth it.

Buying these subscriptions help you to unlock more than 180+ courses from the world class instructor & the best part is that it also offers you a 30 days.

Conclusion: Is the Niki Nakayama MasterClass Worth It?

This is a complete and honest Niki Nakayama MasterClass review—where I have shared everything you need to know. Talking about my experience, this MasterClass was eye-opening for me. 

It changed the way I approach cooking in general and taught me the skills and tools that helped me make tasty Japanese food for myself and my friends.

Beyond this, her teaching style is really impressive. She breaks down each lesson and step in such a way that even a beginner can understand—even if they know nothing about cooking. 

But as mentioned, some of the ingredients used in this MasterClass are difficult to find. Although you can always use substitutes, sometimes it makes a slight difference in taste.

In essence, if you are serious about learning Japanese cooking—especially from someone who is a legend with half a decade of experience and various awards to her name—then this is the perfect opportunity for you. 

So what are you waiting for? Sign up today on the Masterclass platform, unlock this course right away, and start your journey with Japanese cooking.