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Friendly and warm, Executive Chef Warren Seta* is the heart and soul of Yama, a restaurant that blends lines in many ways. Growing up in a multi-cultural environment, he naturally puts together unusual flavor creations that become addictions for guests. Mentored by old-school chefs, he is a mixture of kitchen tough love and a creator of a close-knit staff family. He’s held business positions and returned happily to "wearing the white coat." He and Yama add up to an experience you won’t want to miss.

Photo: Chef Warren ready for culinary action

"I’m Japanese American, but Hawaiian by heritage," explains Seta. Born in Honolulu, he grew up living a multi-cultural life. "At our house, we ate a mixture of foods we thought was normal. Irish stew, corned beef and cabbage, sushi, Chinese noodles and macaroni salad. Everyone had a rice maker," he recalls. "This mix and match was innate. The flavor profiles I use now come from that."

Helping his dad’s friend landed him in a kitchen at 14 washing dishes. It was hard work—no machines involved. "It was my first experience of seeing real cooks—it was just a mom and pop place, but I thought that one day I’d like to do that. I’m not sure if it was passion or just wanting a better job!"

He attended college on a baseball scholarship. Just out of college, he had his first real apprentice job. "I had answered an ad for a cook. Chef Nick asked me in his broken English if I liked to cook. I said yes. He said are you sure? I said yes. He had me put on an apron, pointed me toward a pile of dishes and said ‘start washing.’ He was old school and could bring me to tears. I realized if I could handle it, I’d be able to take my career a long way," says Seta. "He made me get things right. I spent a lot of time on stock one day and it was good. He tasted it, threw it out and told me to make it again. Life comes down to a few pivotal moments and that was one."

It was Chef Nick who gave him the reference to work at the Las Vegas Hilton Benihana. "He knew it was time for me to go. He told me when I was leaving that the stock that day had been ‘this close’ to perfect but he knew I could make it even better."

Warren worked as a hibachi chef from 1981-1989. Returning to Honolulu, he started a wildly successful noodle shop at the Marriott that grew to three locations. In 1995, he returned to Vegas to open Mizuno’s, a Japanese steakhouse in the Tropicana. His partner still runs the operation and his wife does the books. "Even if she weren’t my wife, I’d hire her. She’s the best." Mizuno’s was voted best Japanese restaurant in Las Vegas by the Las Vegas Review Journal in 1997.

In 1999, his fusion restaurant Malibu Chan’s took off. "We had no financing, it was just me and my wife. We were voted Best New Restaurant in Las Vegas by the Review Journal in 2000 and listed in the top 40 neighborhood restaurants on the West Coast in Bon Appètit magazine in 2002. They also printed my halibut recipe. When the big box companies came around, it got harder financially. We sold it in 2006."

At one time, Seta decided to get out of the kitchen and work on the business end of things. He conceived and developed restaurant concepts. He worked in hotel food and beverage, wearing a suit and sitting at a desk. "Bottom line, I’m a better chef than a businessman and I have too much fun being a chef."

With several options to ponder, Warren chose Yama in Bellevue. "I knew it would be a challenge. I was coming in after construction started and it’s in a challenging location (around a corner on the 3^rd floor of the Bellevue Galleria). My family had to decide together if it was a good decision for us." Warren’s family consists of his wife, a son, three daughters and two grandchildren. His son is in Iraq; the rest of the family remains in Vegas.

Photo: Yama, located in the Bellevue Galleria

"I’ve been reminded this last year how much there always is to learn, even after 36 years in the business. No matter what, it always comes down to people. A restaurant is just a tool to make people better. Without Chef Nick doing what today we’d call abuse, I wouldn’t be where I am. I’m sometimes tough on my staff; I want them to learn and grow. But I also work to create a family. When you eat and work together, you become family. As chef, it’s my responsibility to help create that. No manual can teach it. As I get older, the gap between a young staff and me can grow. I can reject the gap, but it’s much more fun to embrace it and enjoy the people around me. Then we all grow."

One thing he passes on is the importance of getting rid of the ‘me’ focus and becoming a servant. Not being subservient, but taking care of others. "Peoples’ minds don’t change; the way to change is through the heart. I take staff to serve the homeless. They may complain at first about giving up their time off, but they all say they’d do it again. You stop thinking about your needs and start thinking about others. That changes you and the level of customer service goes up."

For Warren, cooking is about passion. "I was told, and I tell my staff, to do something they love. Unless you’d do it for free one day, get out of it now. The restaurant business is hard. Margins are small, there’s lots of moving parts and no room for mistakes. Yet it’s the mistakes that really teach you. You have to thrive on stress. A kitchen is like a duck on water. The surface is smooth, but beneath the surface, the feet are paddling fast!"

Photo: Chef Warren Seta

This summer at Yama, more small plates will join the regular menu. New items have Asian integrity, some with a touch of South America. Fusion is a never-ending concept with Warren and Yama. Thank goodness.

* Seta left Yama in October 2008

Connie Adams/June 2008

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