Four Seasons Resort O‘ahu at Ko Olina

Four Seasons Tenure

• Since 2023
• First Four Seasons Assignment: Current

Employment History

• Wynn Las Vegas; Wolfgang Puck, Las Vegas

Education

• Associate of Arts and Sciences, Restaurant, Culinary and Catering, Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, Chicago

Birthplace

• Bethesda, Maryland, USA

Languages Spoken

• English, some Spanish

Cooking at sea level along the Pacific, Brett LaReau’s goal is to take the seafood-forward experience of Mina’s Fish House to new heights. “Whether it’s friendlier dining options or just elevating our service, we’re always looking for new ways to connect with people,” he says, riffing on his role as Executive Chef of the hotspot for beachfront meals, tropical cocktails, and immaculate ocean views at Four Season Resort Oahu at Ko Olina. “Our guests are so savvy these days, so our chefs deliver whatever it takes to personalize every meal.”

Conceived by world-renowned restaurateur Michael Mina and opened in 2016 along with the Resort, Mina’s Fish House has made its reputation by serving exactly what guests want – right down to offering a Fish Sommelier, who roams the floor advising guests on the best seafood to satisfy their particular appetites.  “There is no other concept like it: There’s only one Mina’s Fish House. We use our own unique ingredients to put our own spins on everything.”

Some of those spins are LaReau’s; others are inspired by his team. Though he reports directly to the Mina Group in San Francisco, the corporate chefs give him wide latitude to be creative with the menu. He in turn encourages the entire restaurant staff to contribute by jotting down things of interest – ingredients, techniques, cuisines – on white boards around the kitchen.

Their musings often end up being tested, and if they pass then either added to accent a dish or fashioned into something new. “If something is local to source, that ups its odds,” he explains, noting the notorious delays in shipping ingredients to the Hawaiian Islands from points across the map. He has used staff suggestions for all sorts of things, including weekend specials and the Market Fish, which is offered in four or more varieties nightly. But only after “testing and tasting, and tasting some more.”

Inspiring a team effort is an essential element of LaReau’s management style. “I came up under chefs that took an ‘old-school’ approach in the kitchen. Though I learned a lot, barking directions didn’t resonate with me.” Instead, he prefers to coach and “actually talk with people,” he says. “I’m very team driven, and the work we do together is behind everything we deliver.”

LaReau’s route to Oahu began in the Midwest, a region “not exactly known for exotic seafood,” he says. Born in Bethesda, Maryland, he moved around a bit with his family before settling down and attending school in Lafayette, Indiana, where he quickly got hooked on cooking shows. “They were just becoming popular,” he remembers of his televised diet of Julia Child, Alton Brown, others who invited viewers into their kitchens before the Food Network really hit its stride. “When I took a consumer sciences class in high school, my classmates were always struggling to look up cooking terminology, and I’d just be reeling things off.”

Though intrigued enough by math and the arts to contemplate a career in engineering or music, he instead went with the kitchen, studying at the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago before heading straight to a job at Spago in Palo Alto, California.

Soon enough, a transfer to Las Vegas kicked his culinary career into gear. “I grew up with Wolfgang Puck,” LaReau remembers of his nine-year turn with the celebrated chef that saw him rise into management. “Working with a celebrity right off the bat taught me a strong work ethic very quick.” He later drew on that ethic for success over seven years with another Vegas-based hospitality group, that saw him as chef tournant guiding the smooth operation of 11 restaurants.

Now right at home with his wife and daughters surrounded by the Pacific in Oahu, LaReau calls his first turn as an Executive Chef “a dream come true,” especially given his roots. “Everyone’s jaws dropped when this came through,” he remembers, with a laugh. “From cooking shows in Indiana to running the show in Hawaii is quite a leap.”