The oldest Japanese restaurant in Orange County, ‘Shiki’ is located right before the 55 South Freeway onramp. The interior of Shiki is chic and sophisticated and founded on a basic color scheme of golden yellow. The calm and sophisticated atmosphere is the perfect setting for family event or business meeting. Steve Yamamoto, the owner chef of Shiki and has been at Shiki for 35 years, has had a longstanding culinary career spanning almost half a century. Chef Steve was born and raised in Wakayama prefecture, Japan and moved to the United States when he was still an elementary school student. Despite the language barrier, he almost immediately fit right in. That must have been due to Steve’s friendly and amiable personality.

About 50 years ago, Steve’s father opened the Japanese restaurant, Tenri, in Orange County. Tenri soon became a big hit and Steve, although he was still very young, helped out by washing dishes. He received a monthly allowance of $30.00, which was quite a bit of money back then. He felt the amount was too generous because none of his friends were getting that much. So Steve decided to donate his money to the elementary school he attended in Japan. In the beginning, Steve did not think much of having a career as a chef just because his father was in the restaurant industry. Steve actually majored in Accounting at college and aspired to become a CPA one day. But one of his teachers told him: “Your father is doing honorable work,” and the teacher recommended that Steve pursue his own career as a chef. Steve followed the teacher’s advice and became a fully trained chef.

The training as a chef allowed Steve to land a chef’s position wherever he went. You might think Steve has had a very smooth road on his culinary career, but he has had his share of tough times. If you have no previous experience in the restaurant industry, you normally start by washing dishes. Those beginners, however, have a chance to taste the sauces prepared by executive chefs before washing the plates. Steve envied dishwashers on this account. Without that “privilege,” Steve had to come up with proper sauces simply by watching the executive chefs in action. There was a time when Steve ran to the sink, eager to taste an executive chef’s creation before the dishes were done, only to find out that sauces were already washed off. That was one of the burdens Steve had to learn to bear.

After accumulating experience at various Western cuisine restaurants, Steve, his parents and younger brother opened a Japanese restaurant named Tabiji. It was the first time chef Steve had gotten seriously involved in Japanese style cooking. Tabiji was a sort of family restaurant, serving udon (wheat noodles), donburi dishes (bowl of rice with meat or other things over it), sukiyaki and much more at very reasonable prices. His father was in charge of sushi, his mother was in charge of tempura, Steve was in charge of grilled dishes, and his younger brother, who was a UCLA student at that time, did the dishes in the kitchen. Having many more years of experience in Japanese style cooking, his father took him by the hand and taught him step by step until Steve developed his own style. Some years later, chef Steve went out on his own and opened Shiki.
Although he has always worked hard with little time for sleep, Steve is also aware of the importance of taking some time off. “In order to obtain new knowledge and innovative thinking, you have to learn from other people’s perspectives,” chef Steve says. While at work, chef Steve naturally takes command of Shiki as owner and chef, but he also emphasizes the importance of interacting with customers and reading their expressions. “Customers are paying to dine at Shiki, and I want them to be completely satisfied. You can judge the level of their satisfaction if you look at their expressions.”Since chef Steve treasures his regular patrons, he tries really hard to offer service and flavors that meet their expectations.