The Wow Factor of Chef Sam Choy

By Fern Gavelek

He cooks a mean oxtail soup and made poke a nationwide sensation. With 14 cookbooks, several TV shows, a string of celebrity clients, and involvement with numerous restaurants, Chef Sam Choy is a culinary ambassador for Hawai‘i. Whether he’s touting the attributes of ‘ulu (breadfruit) or designing the menu for American Airlines, the Kailua-Kona resident takes it all in stride. Looking back on his nearly five-decade culinary career, Sam simply shakes his head and says, “It’s amazing.” And he’s not done yet.

Claiming he’s “just a local boy who made good,” Sam grew up in the small town of Lā‘ie on O‘ahu’s North Shore where he learned to cook in his father’s restaurant, Sam’s Place, today known as The Hukilau Café. On the weekends, his family would gather to prepare traditional Hawaiian fare for large lū‘au and celebrations.

His Chinese father, Hung Sam Choy, taught him the culinary basics. “Dad said to make everything uniform, that vegetables and meats should be about the same length,” recalls Sam. “The idea was when you cook, the dish becomes a complete masterpiece. Everything blends.”

After discovering her son’s love for cooking, Sam’s Hawaiian-German mother enrolled him at Kapi‘olani Community College. He earned his professional culinary chops at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. He moved on to 21 years of working at both Hilton and Hyatt properties. Island life beckoned and he served in the kitchens at the Turtle Bay Hilton and today’s Royal Kona Resort, developing his signature cooking style. Sam characterizes his cuisine as “a melting pot of the freshest ingredients from every culture of these islands.”

Sam Choy’s Aloha Cuisine

Achieving “the wow factor” is important to Sam when it comes to food. He likes creating a surprise when you bite into his Asian Braised Short Ribs or Garlic Ginger Chicken. “It’s about blending taste and flavors in unexpected ways,” details the 66-year-old chef. “It’s long on experimenting and trying to be different; it’s short on doing the same thing forever.”

While Sam is respectful of tradition and knows the importance of understanding how flavor and ingredients work, he’s motivated to be out of the ordinary. He says his cooking style, self-described as “Aloha Cuisine,” is simple and about what people like to eat here in Hawai‘i.

“My cooking style reflects the multi-ethnic nature of the islands and I keep it simple because I sense people crave the simplicity and familiarity of food they have grown up with … but I still like to add my twist to it, to make the dish memorable,” the chef continues.

Claim to Fame

Sam opened his first restaurant on Hawai‘i Island in 1985, Sam Choy’s Diner, at today’s location of K-B Extreme. The modest eatery was located adjacent to the bowling alley with a bustling dining counter and comfy booths. The location was a big hit and Sam soon outgrew the spot and opened his first stand-alone restaurant in the Kaloko Industrial Area in 1991, Sam Choy’s Kaloko.

That same year, Sam was one of 12 top island chefs who helped establish Hawai‘i’s trademark culinary movement—Hawai‘i Regional Cuisine; it blends locally-sourced ingredients with a variety of ethnic cooking styles and flavors.

Sam says “Word will spread if you take care of your customers,” and that is what he did at the Kaloko restaurant. Dinner patrons were greeted with a steaming bowl of delicious oxtail soup and a no-nonsense salad topped with a creamy Sam Choy Miso Salad Dressing (which is now bottled and sold at grocery stores). These “starter” courses were all served before your chosen entrée: a generous portion of local-style goodness like Shoyu Chicken, Baked Teriyaki Butterfish, or Hoison Pork Chops.

Residents and visitors flocked to the Kaloko location, followed by food writers, and soon Sam Choy became known in nationwide culinary circles. He made appearances on network TV shows like Emeril Live!, East Meets West with Ming Tsai, and Iron Chef America. In 2004, Sam Choy’s Kaloko Restaurant was the recipient of the prestigious James Beard/Gallo of Sonoma American Classics Award.

Sam looks back fondly on his days operating his Kaloko restaurant, and feels it is one of his most important culinary achievements. “A lot of the food we created at Sam Choy’s Kaloko has now been mainstreamed at numerous restaurants today,” he notes. “And I’m not talking about who invented things; I’m talking about how we made food exciting.”

Celebrity Catering and Consulting

After operating Sam Choy’s Kaloko, the Kona resident was involved in an ever-expanding family of restaurants in Hawai‘i, Tokyo, and Guam. He was also called upon to do on-location lū‘au and dinners for a host of film and sports celebrities at their posh homes. Sam was often seen at the Ellison Onizka Kona International Airport at Keāhole waiting for a flight to “go cook.”

Sam’s food literally “took to the skies” when he started developing meals for airlines. “I’ve been doing it a long time, first with United, and then after 9-11 I got on board with American,” details the chef. At American Airline’s research and development kitchen in Dallas, Sam designs food for all the transcontinental flights and those transporting passengers to and from Hawai‘i.

“They put the pedal to the metal in Dallas,” continues Sam. “They do thousands of meals a day. Everything is exact; there is no room for error.”

While Sam is no longer affiliated with some of his past restaurants, he is involved with new eating establishments on the mainland’s west coast, and on O‘ahu and Kaua‘i. Sam Choy’s Poke to the Max restaurants are found in Seattle’s Hillman City and the University of Washington’s Tacoma campus. There are Sam Choy’s Poke to the Max food trucks servicing numerous Seattle locations, including the corporate campuses for Amazon and Starbuck’s, Century Link Stadium, and the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. A new location recently opened in San Francisco.

On the Garden Isle of Kaua‘i, Sam is involved in a partnership with the Holoholo Grill at Koloa Landing Resort. He handpicked the restaurant’s culinary team, with whom he collaborates to develop a diverse menu. “The folks there are wonderful to work with,” confides Sam.

Most recently, Chef Sam has been busy developing the student dining facility for Hawai‘i Pacific University at Aloha Tower Marketplace, called Pier 9 by Sam Choy. About 270 students live in waterfront lofts on the second floor of the marketplace and the new dining commons opened for the 2018 fall semester.

“The concept is a combo of feeding students and people from the downtown community, as they can come in too,” shares Sam. “Not many restaurants can boast having that dual kind of patronage.”

Putting Poke on the Culinary Map

Poke, the popular island pūpū (appetizer), is a mainstay in the world of Sam Choy. Over the years it has been featured at his many restaurants, explored in his cookbooks (two are just on poke), demonstrated on TV, and it has also starred in numerous island poke contests. As such, Chef Sam put poke on the culinary map and today it is served in cities across the US.

Poke hails from Hawai‘i; the Hawaiian word means “to slice or cut crosswise into pieces,” according to The Choy of Cooking. Pronounced poh-KAY, poke is typically raw or cooked cubed fish seasoned with Hawaiian sea salt, spices, and sesame oil, and accented with seaweed, nuts, and other ingredients. Variations to this theme are up to each individual and even vegan poke is delicious. Poke can be a pūpū or a side dish, served with rice or poi.

While Sam is no longer involved with poke contests in Hawai‘i, he “discovered it was important to continue them.” He is currently head honcho at the Sam Choy’s Poke to the Max Poke Contest in Seattle.

On the Tube

You can watch Sam in action on KHON-2 during Sam Choy’s in the Kitchen; the TV show is broadcast at 6:30pm Sundays on FOX. During the half-hour show, Sam shows families how to turn leftovers into “new and exciting, delicious dishes” using ingredients found in their refrigerator.

Sam insists the show “is the real deal; we don’t stock the fridge.” Shows are taped between Sam’s traveling schedule—26 to 30 episodes per season. Segments are filmed primarily on O‘ahu. Chef came up with the idea for the show 20 years ago when he saw people throwing away “good food.”

“You know, it’s a lot of fun … we dig around in the fridge and so far, we have always been able to come up with something to make,” he details. “It gets our creative juices flowing.” Sam likens the show’s format to cooking challenges where chefs prepare food from a mystery box. “It’s the same energy,” he explains. “It’s exciting and my mind is spinning a mile a minute. I’m taking leftovers from a container and creating something different.”

Kitchen Towels and Giving Back

In an effort to “bring a little aloha to your home,” Sam partners with Kona’s Brad “Tiki Shark” Parker to offer a selection of Sam Choyʻs Hawaiian Kitchen towels and accessories. A newer linen line will be out for the holidays, debuting at major retailers throughout the islands.

“I love Bradʻs artwork and having him design my kitchen line locally in Hawai‘i is even better,” notes Sam.

Believing it’s important to give back, Sam says, “I take my love for food and use it to raise money.” It could be by donating a catered dinner for a silent auction or the proceeds from a poke contest. “If we can help a child get a higher level of education, we have created another successful person,” adds the grandfather of three.

Sam believes in making appearances and donating cookbooks to promote causes he believes in, including the use of ‘ulu for the National Tropical Botanical Garden’s Breadfruit Institute and the University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center in Cleveland. “I lost my mom to cancer, so I give a lot for cancer; I work hard at doing that.”

Chef offers a bit of advice for those who toil in the kitchen: “Never cook mad!” He notes food in the islands has always been associated with caring and giving—whether a lū‘au, sharing kau kau around the plantation kettle, or pūpū for a pau hana (after work) get-together. “Preparing food is love,” he grins. ❖

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For more information: chefsamchoy.com