27275: Hermantin(News) CREOLE CELEBRATION (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

Leonie Hermantin


Miami Herald


Posted on Sun, Jan. 15, 2006


LITTLE HAITI/NORTH MIAMI
CREOLE CELEBRATION
WILKINSON 'KEN' SEJOUR, WHO RUNS CHEF CREOLE SEAFOOD & CATERING RESTAURANTS, 
RECENTLY CELEBRATED THE 13TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS BUSINESS WITH A BLOCK PARTY 
THAT DREW MORE THAN 350 PEOPLE, OFFERED LIVE MUSIC, ENTERTAINMENT, FOOD AND A 
TOY DRIVE
BY ALDO NAHED
anahed@MiamiHerald.com

When Chef Creole throws a party, it's sure to be a spectacle.

Take a recent block party to celebrate the 13th anniversary of Chef Creole 
Seafood & Catering at the Little Haiti restaurant, 200 NW 54th St. The occasion 
brought dancers, local radio DJs and musicians, and was attended by more than 
350 people, who enjoyed free food, refreshments and entertainment.

In addition to the block party, more than 200 toys were collected for a local 
outreach shelter and all of the 150 children who attended the event received a 
gift to take home, organizers said.

''We made it our business to cater to the community,'' said Wilkinson ''Ken'' 
Sejour, who also runs another Chef Creole restaurant in North Miami and is 
known affectionately by customers, friends, family and the community at large 
as ``Chef Creole.''

''Everyone calls me Chef,'' Sejour said. ``Even good friends feel confident 
calling me Chef Creole. It's an honor. They are telling me that I'm doing a 
good job at what I do.''

In the 13 years that Sejour, 35, has run his take-out seafood restaurants, he's 
been host to countless celebrations for Miami's Haitian and Caribbean 
communities, and counts community leaders and celebrities among his loyal 
customers.

Sejour opened the first Chef Creole in December 1992 at Northeast Second Avenue 
and 77th Street. His idea was to offer American food, but with a Creole flavor.

The kitchen was unfamiliar territory at the time. ''I started off as a 
businessman, not interested in becoming a chef,'' Sejour said. ``I became a 
chef out of necessity.''

Sejour learned how to cook by trial and error, and within four years, he 
understood how spices can manifest at different temperatures, he said.

Sejour says that when he first opened Chef Creole he would go to different 
organizations that were holding events and he would offer to cater for free. 
All he asked for was ``a certificate for the appreciation of our services.''

He says he began to notice a pattern.

''Every time we gave, we made more money,'' he said.

Born in Nassau to Haitian parents, Sejour's family moved to Miami in the early 
1970s when he was 3. He considers himself Haitian because his parents' 
discipline ``was all Haitian.''

He also credits the stern upbringing by his father, Wilson Sejour, with the 
success of his catering business.

''My dad would have me do things more than once,'' he said. ``When you are in 
business, that is one of the things that you want to develop.''

His father, who ran a seafood market for a few years on Northeast 54th Street, 
now oversees the Chef Creole offices.

Sejour married his high school sweetheart, Nazarena, and has raised eight 
children in Miami.

The North Miami Chef Creole location, at 13105 W. Dixie Hwy., opened in 1999.

There have been a handful of personal obstacles and set backs. In 2000, a fire 
destroyed his first restaurant. Three years earlier, in 1997, he was faced with 
the death of Jude Pierre, his business partner and best friend.

Sejour says he keeps a positive attitude, which he credits as the key to the 
success of his two restaurants.

Sejour says his plate is full. He shot a television pilot called Chef Creole's 
Season Kitchen, which highlights his spicy seafood recipes and his signature 
dish -- grilled conch.

He's also writing a book on how to run a successful business and is preparing 
to offer franchise opportunities. So far, he's got people who want to open Chef 
Creoles in New York and North Florida.

''Everyone knows that Chef Creole is looking forward to being more 
successful,'' Sejour said.

``There needs to be an example to the community. I hope we can become an icon, 
not just in Little Haiti and North Miami, but all over Florida.''