Sam Choy facts for kids
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Sam Choy during a meeting with Eni Faleomavaega
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| Cooking style | Pacific Rim cuisine |
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| Education | Kapiolani Community College |
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Current restaurant(s)
Sam Choy's Kai Lanai
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Television show(s)
Iron Chef America
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Award(s) won
James Beard Foundation Award for America's Classics (2004)
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Sam Choy Sr. is a famous American chef, restaurant owner, and TV star. Many people call him "the godfather of poke" because he helped make this Hawaiian dish popular. He also helped create "Pacific Rim cuisine," which mixes different cooking styles from around the Pacific Ocean.
Contents
About Sam Choy
Early Life and Training
Sam Choy grew up in Laie, Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. His dad was Chinese, and his mom was German-Hawaiian. He learned to cook at Kapiolani Community College in Hawaii.
Becoming a Chef
Sam started his cooking career at a famous hotel in New York City called The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Later, he came back to Hawaii and opened many of his own restaurants. He was very important in making "Hawaii regional cuisine" well-known. This style of cooking uses fresh, local ingredients from Hawaii.
In 1991, Sam Choy started the first Poke Festival and Recipe Contest. This event helped make poke, a popular Hawaiian dish of raw fish, even more famous.
Awards and TV Shows
In 2004, one of Sam Choy's restaurants, Sam Choy's Kaloko, won a special award. The James Beard Foundation named it one of "America's Classics." This award goes to beloved local restaurants that show the true spirit of their communities.
Sam Choy has been on several TV shows on the Food Network. You might have seen him on Ready.. Set... Cook!, Chopped, or Iron Chef America.
He is good friends with another famous chef, Emeril Lagasse. Emeril has even appeared on Sam's TV show, Sam Choy's Kitchen. Emeril once shared Sam's "secret ingredient" for poke: peanut butter! In 2015, Sam Choy also started his own cooking series on YouTube called Sam Choy In The Kitchen.
Sam has even designed Hawaiian-inspired meals for first-class passengers on American Airlines flights to and from Hawaii.
Sam Choy's Family
Sam Choy is married to Carol. They have two sons named Sam Jr. and Christopher. Today, Sam Choy lives in Kona District, Hawaii.
Sam Choy's Restaurants
Sam Choy has opened many restaurants over the years. Here are some of them:
- Holoholo Grill (located in Kauai at Koloa Landing Hotel)
- Pier Nine by Sam Choy (at HPU Campus, O'ahu, Hawaii)
- Sam Choy's Seafood Style Island Grille (at Pearl Harbor, O'ahu, Hawaii)
- Sam Choy's Poke to the Max (in Seattle & Tacoma, Washington)
- Sam Choy’s Ohana Diner (in Incline Village, Nevada)
See Also
- Cuisine of Hawaii
- Iron Chef America
- Poke (Hawaii)
