Sam Choy

Choy is the son of a Chinese father, Hung Sam Choy, and a German–Hawaiian mother, Clairemoana.{{Cite web|title=HRC Chef Profiles - Hawaii|url=http://www.honolulumagazine.com/Honolulu-Magazine/October-2011/Present-at-the-Food-Revolution-in-Hawaii/Original-HRC-Chef-Profiles/|website=www.honolulumagazine.com|access-date=2011-10-31|archive-date=2016-06-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624012646/http://www.honolulumagazine.com/Honolulu-Magazine/October-2011/Present-at-the-Food-Revolution-in-Hawaii/Original-HRC-Chef-Profiles/|url-status=dead}} He grew up in Laie, Oahu. Choy is an alumnus of the Kapiolani Community College's Culinary Arts program.{{cite news | title =Sam Choy: Biography | url =http://www1.foodtv.com/celebrities/choybio/0,7213,,00.html | work =Food Network | accessdate =2007-09-19 | archive-date =2008-08-29 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20080829143633/http://www1.foodtv.com/celebrities/choybio/0,7213,,00.html | url-status =dead }}

One of his first jobs as a chef was at The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. He would then return to Hawaii, where he eventually opened a chain of restaurants.{{cite news | first=Sam | last=Choy | title=Sam Choy's Island Flavors | url=http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/special/1999/samchoy/ | work=Global Gourmet | access-date=2007-09-19 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070204071404/http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/special/1999/samchoy/ | archive-date=2007-02-04 }} Choy helped develop and popularize Hawaii regional cuisine. In 1991, Choy founded the Poke Festival and Recipe Contest.

In 2004, Choy's restaurant Sam Choy's Kaloko in Kailua-Kona, on the Big Island of Hawaii, was named by the James Beard Foundation as one of America's Classics restaurants. The award recognizes "beloved regional restaurants" that reflect the character of their communities.

Choy has appeared in several Food Network programs, including Ready.. Set... Cook!, Chopped’s first Grill Master Tournament, and Iron Chef America.

He is good friends with Emeril Lagasse,{{cite news | title=Emeril Live | date=2007-07-06 | url=http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_em/episode/0,1976,FOOD_9959_49857,00.html | work=Food Network | accessdate=2007-09-19 | archive-date=2007-11-13 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113144856/http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_em/episode/0,1976,FOOD_9959_49857,00.html | url-status=dead }} who has appeared on Choy's TV show Sam Choy's Kitchen on KHNL. Lagasse has also mentioned Choy by name several times in his television shows; one of those times he was making Poke on his live TV show, and added peanut butter to the Poke- Choy's "secret ingredient". In 2015, Choy broadcast a series on YouTube, Sam Choy In The Kitchen.

Choy has designed Hawaiian-inspired dishes for American Airlines’ first class passengers to and from Hawaii.{{When|date=May 2021}}

He is married to Carol, with whom he has two sons, Sam Jr. and Christopher.{{Cite web|url=http://archives.starbulletin.com/2002/09/29/special/story35.html|title=Honolulu Star-Bulletin Special|website=archives.starbulletin.com}}

Choy lives in Kona District, Hawaii.

• Sam Choy (1995). "With Sam Choy: Cooking from the Heart"
• Sam Choy (1999). "The Choy of Seafood"
• Sam Choy, U'I Goldsberry, & Steven Goldsberry (1999). "Sam Choy's Island Flavors"
• Sam Choy and Catherine Enomoto (2000). "Sam Choy's Cooking: Island Cuisine at Its Best"
• Sam Choy (2001). "Sam Choy Woks the Wok: Stir Fry Cooking at Its Island Best"
• Sam Choy (2001). "Sam Choy's Cooking with Kids"
• Sam Choy (2000). "Sam Choy's Sampler: Hawaii's Favorite Recipes"
• Sam Choy (2002). "Sam Choy's Polynesian Kitchen: More Than 150 Authentic Dishes from One of the World's Most Delicious and Overlooked Cuisine"
• Sam Choy (2002). "Sam Choy's visits Mr. Burkott and his farm in Hawaii"
• Sam Choy (2003). "Sam Choy's Little Hawaiian Cookbook for Big Appetites"
• Sam Choy, Lynn Cook, and Douglas Peebles (2003). "A Hawaiian Luau with Sam Choy and The Makaha Sons"
• Sam Choy and Elizabeth Meahl. (2004). "Sam Choy's A Little Hawaiian Poke Cookbook"
• Sam Choy (2006). "Aloha Cuisine"
• Sam Choy (2009). "Poke"

• Holoholo Grill (Kauai at Koloa Landing Hotel)
• Huki Lau Cafe (no longer owned by Choy, Laie, O'ahu, Hawaii)
• Pier Nine by Sam Choy (HPU Campus, O'ahu, Hawaii)
• Sam Choy's Breakfast, Lunch, and Crab (Closed in 2013)
• Sam Choy's (Tumon Bay, Guam - Closed)
• Sam Choy's Kai Lanai ( Big Island, Hawaii - Closed)
• Sam Choy's Seafood Style Island Grille (Pearl Harbor, O'ahu, Hawaii)
• Sam Choy's Kahului (Queen Kaahumanu Center, Kahului, Maui - Closed)
• Sam Choy's Lahaina (Front Street - Closed)
• Sam Choy's Poke to the Max (Seattle & Tacoma, Washington)
• Sam Choy’s Ohana Diner (Bowl Incline, Incline Village, Nevada)
• Sam Choy's Kaloko (Kaloko, Hawaii - Closed)

• Cuisine of Hawaii
• Iron Chef America
• George Mavrothalassitis
• Poke (Hawaii)
• Alan Wong
• Roy Yamaguchi

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• [http://www1.foodtv.com/celebrities/choybio/0,7213,,00.html Food Network biography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080829143633/http://www1.foodtv.com/celebrities/choybio/0,7213,,00.html |date=2008-08-29 }}

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Category:American television chefs

Category:American male chefs

Category:American food writers

Category:Living people

Category:Year of birth missing (living people)

Category:Place of birth missing (living people)

Category:American people of Chinese descent

Category:American restaurateurs

Category:Chefs from Hawaii

Category:America's Classics winners

Category:20th-century American businesspeople

Category:Waldorf Astoria New York

Category:Food Network chefs

Category:People from Hawaii (island)

Category:American Airlines people

Category:YouTubers from Hawaii