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"Hawaii's Culinary Ambassador" is the honorary title bestowed upon chef Sam Choy by the Big Island mayor. But Sam prefers to think of himself as "just a local boy who made good."
"Made good" is an understatement for a four-time nominee for the James Beard Best Pacific Regional Chef award. Sam is also one of United Airlines culinary consultants in the company of such superstar chefs as Norman Van Aken, Martin Yan, and Jacques Pepin. He wrote five top-selling cookbooks published by Mutual Publishing, a local publishing company: Cooking From the Heart with Sam Choy, Sam Choy's Cooking, The Choy of Seafood, Sam Choy's Kitchen, Sam Choy's Poke, Hawaii's Soul Food. In 1999, he released a national compilation of these books, titled Sam Choy's Island Flavors (Hyperion).
Sam grew up in the small town of Laie on the North Shore of Oahu. He and his brother and sisters learned to cook in their father's restaurant, the Hukilau Cafe. His Chinese father, Hung Sam Choy, was known to make the best pot roast in the neighborhood. Sam's Hawaiian-German mother, Clairemoana, enrolled Sam in the local Kapiolani Community College, where he discovered that he truly loved cooking. After honing his skills in major hotels, Sam opened his first restaurant in 1991 on the Big Island of Hawaii. Today, Sam Choy has eight restaurants that bear his name, including one in Tokyo and one in Guam.
Sam's weekly cooking show, Sam Choy's Kitchen, garners high ratings on his local NBC affiliate. When he's not filming his show or traveling for cooking demonstrations, Sam oversees his talented team of executive chefs.
In 1999, Nation's Restaurant News named Sam one of 50 tastemakers influencing America. Sam has also been featured on numerous cooking shows and in national publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Sunset Magazine, Bon Appetit, and Gourmet.
Sam summarizes his success simply. "I think of my cuisine as a melting pot, of gathering the freshest ingredients from every culture on these islands." He is exuberant when talking about Hawaii, the local people, and the "aloha." "You heard that saying, 'Lucky you live Hawaii'? I say that everyday!"
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