A Brooklyn native of Italian-Indonesian heritage, Ayesha Nurdjaja’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 worked her
way up the ranks at various New York City restaurants including Lidia Bastianich’s Felidia, Bar Aristinal,
Picholine and Missy Robbins’ A Voce as well as Red Gravy in Brooklyn as executive chef before meeting
Vicki Freeman and Marc Meyer of The Bowery Group in 2015. Two years later, Ayesha opened Shuka in
SoHo with the restaurant group, earning a devoted following for her vibrant Eastern Mediterranean fare.
While stepping into the culinary director role for the restaurant group overall, Ayesha opened Shukette in
2021 as chef/partner, garnering recognition and reviews from the New York Times, New Yorker and
more. Chef Ayesha has been nominated in the category Best Chef: New York by the James Beard
Foundation in 2022 and 2023.