Opening a restaurant is never easy, but it’s even more daunting when you’re tasked with reopening a space in Steve Wynn’s eponymous Vegas casino. In mid-2012, the venue formerly known as Okada reopened as Mizumi under new executive chef Devin Hashimoto. He revamped the menu to complement the interior’s remodel, resulting in an elegant dining destination serving Japanese favorites and Pan-Asian dishes.

Ingredient he’s currently obsessed with: soy salt “When I first got to Mizumi I had actually never seen it before. It’s very flaky, and ever since I tried it, I’ve been using it throughout the menu. It has a nice, really dark black color and is very crunchy. It just adds a clean soy flavor without the saltiness, which is very strange, considering it’s called salt.”

Favorite brewer: Hitachino Nest “I love the Sweet Stout, because I love the taste of espresso. I also really like the Red Rice Ale. We started carrying them when we reopened, which I was very happy about. It’s just a great brewery not a lot of people know about.”

Most memorable meal: Daniel in New York “We did the wine pairings, and they were amazing. Tableside service included a salt-cured John Dory, and it was very old-school. Execution-wise—particularly knowing how busy the restaurant was—everything was spot-on. I was blown away.”