Perry Bateman

Career Since 2000, Perry Bateman has held the Executive Chef title at Mama’s Fish House in Paia, United States, a post that sits at the center of one of Maui’s most closely watched kitchens. The path to that role started at the sink: he began at the restaurant as a dishwasher and rose, through years of steady repetition and close knowledge of the house, to become its first Executive Chef. That progression gives the career its shape — built less on display than on discipline, familiarity with the work, and an exact read on what a kitchen needs to function.

Signature

At Mama’s Fish House, the cooking stays tied to place. Bateman’s specialty is New Hawaiian cuisine centered on local catch, a style that reflects both the island setting and the practical discipline of building a menu around what is available, fresh, and rooted in the surrounding waters. The work is less about flourish than attention: to the catch, to season, and to the daily realities of a restaurant whose identity is its island home.

Recognition/etc Recognition has come in step with that consistency. In 2016, Perry Bateman received the Maui County Farm Bureau Friend of Agriculture Award, a distinction that points to the agricultural and local ties at the core of his approach. It fits a chef whose specialty centers on local catch and whose professional identity remains closely aligned with the ingredients and producers of his region.