“I’m not a title guy. I just like to cook,” Vasko Vasileski, the new head chef at Mustard Seed Café told us as he described his restaurant background in a chat earlier this week.

Vasko joined Mustard Seed, at 562 N. Main St., Bluffton, this past fall and he is slowly putting his own chef stamp on the local restaurant.

Originally from Macedonia, how did he land in Bluffton? Vasko’s wife is in a post-doctorate study and is an Ohio Northern University law professor. The couple, with their two children, live in Ada.

His restaurant experience began when he was 14 in Macedonia. “Being a chef and preparing food brings people together. It’s a universal language,” he said.

Today, in addition to his work at Mustard Seed, he owns a lakeside restaurant near the Ohrid Lake, in Macedonia.

Asked what is the key to good cooking, Vasko says, “Simplicity is the key.” That simplicity he mentions includes experience working in kitchens across Europe including Germany, France and Italy, in addition to his home country.

Toss in some food flavoring from his food experience in Greece and Bulgaria and you begin to get a feel for Vasko’s cooking background.

To our question, “Where is the best restaurant you’ve ever had a meal?” Vasko surprised us with: “Uruguay. It is a restaurant on the top of a mountain. It serves fish and meat cooked by wood and charcoal heat.”

As a chef, Vasko is a believer in the farm-to-table cooking concept. “I like to shop at farmers’ markets where I can choose my items to use in my dishes.”

There’s more to Vasko than being a chef. “I’m also a butcher. You see, I believe in the whole package. My grandfather was a butcher and he taught me.”

While Vasko follows the Mustard Seed menu, several special weekend events take place this winter and spring where he might showcase his own cooking. One event is a possible six-course wine tasting dinner. Watch the Icon for details.