Yes, Chef
Restaurant keeps it local while running two kitchens
By Gabrielle Myers
February 2026
At Omakase Por Favor, chef and owner Jeana Marie Pecha and crew offer a Japanese inspired take on coastal Mexican cuisine fueled by local purveyors.
In Japanese, omakase means, “I leave it up to you.” In other words, trust the chef.
Pecha grew up in Roseville. A formative experience was a trip to Manzanillo, Mexico, to study with Chef Freddy Ahlert.
Before that adventure, Pecha thought Mexican food was nachos and burritos. But at Bistro Mexicano Alatriste, she discovered the beauty and refinement of Mexican cuisine. She learned about mariscos, ceviches and countless creative ingredients.
From Mexico, Pecha went to Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley and worked at restaurants in Napa, Pasadena, Chicago and Spokane before returning to Sacramento.
At Omakase Por Favor, she emphasizes local ingredients. The menu changes once or twice a week, which lets the kitchen buy small batches of produce and fish from Northern California purveyors.
Pecha works with underrepresented farms around Lincoln, such as Plum Possum Farm. From Dixon to Auburn, she buys from diverse farmers, ranchers and fish mongers. Her roster includes area favorites Ferrari Fisheries, Superior Farms and Riverdog Farm.
As we talked one afternoon at Omakase Midtown, a berry farmer came by. Pecha follows a “no haggle” rule with farmers. This means she works with farmers who set fair prices without the restaurant trying to bargain them down.
“It is important to treat your farmers well,” she says.
Pecha and team take field trips to farms, ranches, olive mills and fisheries. They visited lamb producer Superior Farms, Sciabica’s Olive Oil mill and Riverdog Farm. They visited a fishery near Seattle where they source oysters.
Omakase uses local sturgeon from Tsar Nicoulai Caviar. For lunch, the kitchen makes a sturgeon melt and sturgeon chicharrones to accompany the caviar.
Sturgeon are often killed for caviar and thrown away, a practice Pecha doesn’t follow. The fish is delicious and not to be wasted.
Omakase has a “scrap” program, which involves reducing food waste to near zero. Kitchen staff use garlic husks in sauces. They recycle celery and lemon scraps in the base aioli sauce.
Citrus rinds are burned to a crisp. Ash seasoning goes into food. If scraps don’t work in the kitchen, Pecha puts them in her “goat bag” and brings them home for her and her neighbors’ goats.
Both Omakase restaurants in Midtown and Lincoln use tasting menus. “We can pivot because the restaurant is set up to be low waste,” she says.
The two restaurants offer different menus but communicate, cross train and share workers. Pecha says, “It feels like one location in two spots.”
Omakase contributed to the Tower Bridge Dinner at last year’s Farm-to-Fork Festival, but it’s the daily challenges of sourcing, preparing and serving food that keeps her going.
“We love food,” she says. “We cook all day and use good ingredients. If you don’t love the food, this is a hard career. But we don’t have that problem.”
Omakase Por Favor is at 1050 20th St., Suite 150, and 640 Twelve Bridges Drive, Lincoln; omakaseporfavor.com; (916) 298-4083.
Gabrielle Myers can be reached at gabriellemyers11@gmail.com. Her latest book of poetry, “Points in the Network,” is available at finishinglinepress.com. Follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram: @insidesacramento.
