Off the Cuff — Interviews

Photos credits: Suzi Pratt Photography Reborn to Reconnect We recently sat down with young-chef-old-soul and self-described "hopeless romantic", Shota Nakajima, to talk about his newly re-launched restaurant, Adana, his personal journey to cooking and the inspiration behind his cuisine. TD:  Tell us about your journey to cooking. SN:  I started cooking while I was still going to high school in Seattle. At the age of 18 I decided to move to Osaka, Japan and worked there for 4 and a half years under Michelin star chef Nakamoto.  I came back to Seattle at the age of 23. At the age of 25 I opened Naka which...

  Friends of Thomas Dean, Scott and Jean Manning, met and lived in New Orleans for over a decade.  To say they're enthusiasts would be vastly understating their passion. The pair return frequently, guiding friends through the lively music, bead-throwing, mask-wearing, shameless-eating-and-drinking that is Mardi Gras.  We sat down with the Manning's recently over Jean's ethereal shrimp etouffee, while they shared the history of Mardi Gras, krewes, king cake and their top picks for a visit to The Big Easy.  The Manning's NOLA Top 5: Stanley's in the Quarter for brunch Commander's Palace uptown for jazz brunch Maple Leaf Bar uptown...

BRIAN: Dean, your friend, Seattle Seahawks’ Super Bowl-winning quarterback, Russell Wilson has partnered with Thomas Dean to start a line of clothes. How’d that come about? DEAN: Good luck and good timing, I guess. It happens that my wife, Trudy, shares a personal trainer with a Seattle Seahawk player’s wife, and being the great ambassador of the brand that she is, Trudy invited them to take a look at our clothes, which they both just loved. It took off from there. Russell Wilson started noticing how well put-together that player looked in postgame interviews when he was wearing our Thomas...

Here at Thomas Dean design, we are fascinated by style. We live and breathe it. We dive into archives and we love meeting clothiers who share the same passion for design, cut and style, like Julie Lansky, granddaughter of Bernard Lansky, Clothier to the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. If you’re lucky enough to find yourself in Memphis, Tennessee, wander over to The Peabody Hotel and discover a shop called Lansky at The Peabody. Why? Because as any resident of Memphis will tell you, this is where one young star got his start fashion-wise and who wouldn’t want to shop...