Bun Lai facts for kids

Bun Lai (born 1973) is an American chef who was born in Hong Kong. He is a big leader in the movement to create sustainable food. This means finding ways to produce food that are good for the planet and can last a long time.

His family owns a restaurant called Miya's in New Haven, Connecticut. It's known as the first sustainable sushi restaurant in the world! Bun Lai's mother started Miya's. She even received an award for her work in sustainable seafood. His father is a scientist and surgeon who studied at Cambridge and Yale University.

Bun Lai's work as a chef and a leader in sustainability has been featured in many news stories.

What is Sustainable Sushi?

Making Sushi Better for the Planet

In 2001, Bun Lai started changing the menu at Miya's. He removed seafood that was caught or farmed in ways that hurt the ocean or the animals. He was the first chef in the world to make sushi using only sustainable seafood. This means choosing fish and other sea creatures that are caught or raised in a way that doesn't harm their populations or their homes.

Bun Lai also created the sweet potato sushi roll in 1995. This plant-based sushi roll became very popular. Today, you can find it on sushi menus all over the country. He also started using brown rice and other whole grains for sushi instead of white rice. This idea is now used by sushi chefs around the world!

Chef Bun Lai preparing his wabisabi roll made from Alaskan sockeye and wild grape leaves he foraged himself.

Using Invasive Species in Food

In 2005, Chef Bun Lai came up with a new idea: using invasive species in his dishes. Invasive species are plants or animals that are not native to an area and can cause harm to the environment. By eating them, chefs can help control their populations.

At first, it was hard to get these invasive species for cooking. But now, Miya's offers many of them. These include lionfish from Florida, silver carp from Kentucky, and even cannonball jellyfish from Georgia. They also use invasive plants like Japanese knotweed and Autumn olive.

The idea is to eat these abundant but harmful species. This helps take pressure off popular fish that are often overfished. In 2013, Bun Lai even used cicadas in his sushi! While some people thought it was funny, the New York Times later praised his idea. They said it helps people eat in a way that is better for the environment.

Chef Bun Lai and conservation biologist, Dr. Joe Roman, hunting for invasive Asian shore crabs in Connecticut.

Bun Lai has also written articles for important magazines like Scientific American. He has given talks at places like the White House, the Harvard School of Public Health, and the National Geographic Society.

Bun Lai in Documentaries and Podcasts

Bun Lai's unique approach to food has been featured in several films and audio shows:

• "Little Fish" (2021) by The New Yorker
• "Blind Sushi" (2018)
• "Experimental Insect Sushi Rolls with Miya's of New Haven" (2016) by Vice Munchies
• "Wild Food: Conversations With Chef Bun Lai + Local Foragers" by NPR

Awards and Recognition

Bun Lai has received many awards for his work:

• Named one of the Top Ten Hottest Chefs in the World in 2016.
• A finalist for the James Beard Foundation Broadcast Media Documentary Award in 2018 for "Blind Sushi."
• Received a White House Champion of Change for Sustainable Seafood Award.
• Nominated for Best Chef Northeast by the James Beard Foundation in 2013.
• Named one of the 11 Most Influential Chefs in the U.S. by EcoSalon.
• Recognized as one of New Haven's 50 Most Influential People.
• Called the "Greatest Person of the Day" by the Huffington Post.
• Received the Yale Elm-Ivy Award.

Images for kids

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  Bun Lai hunting invasive python