VENUE:
Mauna Lani Bay
Hotel & Bungalows
68-1400 Mauna Lani Drive
Kohala Coast, HI 96743
808-885-6622 


January 20th, 2012 6PM
Cocktail Reception with Celebrity Mixologist
Manny Hinojosa and appetizers by
Celebrity Chef Sam Choy

PRICE: $50 per person



January 21st, 2012 6PM
Celebrity Chef Tour Dinner with
Celebrity Chefs Jonathan, Ming, & Tyler

PRICE: $250 per person inclusive

Ming was raised in Dayton, Ohio, where he spent hours cooking alongside his mother and father at their family-owned restaurant, Mandarin Kitchen. His love of cooking (and eating!) great food was forged in these early years, while also gaining valuable experience in front and back of the house. Ming headed east to attend school at Phillips Academy Andover. From there, Ming continued to Yale University, earning his degree in Mechanical Engineering. During this time, Ming spent his junior summer at Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris. After graduating from Yale, Ming worked in kitchens around the globe. He trained under renowned Pastry Chef Pierre Herme in Paris and in Osaka with Sushi Master Kobayashi. Upon his return to the United States, Ming enrolled in graduate school at Cornell University, earning a Master's degree in Hotel Administration and Hospitality Marketing. Ming continued to learn varied styles of cuisine, holding positions in both front and back of the house at establishments in Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco and Santa Fe.

In 1998, Ming opened Blue Ginger in Wellesley, MA and immediately impressed diners from Boston and beyond with the restaurant's innovative East-West cuisine. In its first year, Blue Ginger received 3 stars from the Boston Globe, was named "Best New Restaurant" by Boston Magazine, was nominated by the James Beard Foundation as "Best New Restaurant 1998," and Esquire Magazine honored Ming as "Chef of the Year 1998." The James Beard Foundation crowned Ming "2002 Best Chef Northeast" and, since 2002, the Zagat Restaurant Guide has rated Blue Ginger the "2nd Most Popular Boston Restaurant." In 2007, Blue Ginger received the Ivy Award from Restaurants & Institutions, for its consistent achievement in meeting the highest standards for food, hospitality and service and, in 2009, Ming and Blue Ginger won IFMA's Silver Plate Award in the Independent Restaurant Category recognizing overall excellence in the industry.

In 2008, Blue Ginger expanded with a feng shui-inspired addition doubling its size, creating three private dining rooms and the casual-chic Blue Ginger Lounge, serving an Asian tapas menu featuring Ming's Bings, Ming's take on the classic Asian street food xiar bing, a cross between a dumpling and a slider.

Ming is a national spokesperson for the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN), working to further education and research on food allergies. Ming is proud to have developed the Food Allergy Reference Book, first used at Blue Ginger, a pioneering system that creates safeguards to help food-allergic people dine safely. For the past four years, he worked with Massachusetts Legislature to help write Bill S. 2701, which was recently signed into law. This groundbreaking legislation, the first of its kind in the US, requires local restaurants to comply with specific food allergy awareness guidelines.

Ming is the host and executive producer of the public television cooking show, SIMPLY MING. In 2009, SIMPLY MING received two Emmy nominations for 'Outstanding Culinary Program' and 'Outstanding Lifestyle/Culinary Host,' and received two Bronze Telly Awards in the categories of 'Lighting' and 'Art Direction.' His SIMPLY MING video podcasts, the first of their kind, feature tutorials on everything from filleting fish to food allergy basics (available on ming.com and iTunes). Ming began cooking for television audiences on the Food Network, where he was the 1998 Emmy Award-Winning host of East Meets West with Ming Tsai. Ming's Quest, his popular cooking adventure series, also aired on Food Network. In the summer of 2008, Ming traveled to the Beijing Olympics with NBC's Today show to provide viewers with insight into food customs and traditions that define his Chinese heritage. In addition to television, Ming is the author of four cookbooks: Blue Ginger: East Meets West Cooking with Ming Tsai, Simply Ming, Ming's Master Recipes, and Simply Ming One-Pot Meals.

In addition to restaurant, TV and print endeavors, Ming is also a prolific designer and product developer. His Blue Ginger® Multi-Grain Brown Rice Chips are a hugely popular item in club stores across the nation. For the past decade, Ming has used Kyocera Advanced Ceramic cutting tools. Ming is a proud member of Common Threads, the Harvard School of Public Health's Nutrition Round Table, Big Brothers Big Sisters, The Cam Neely Foundation and Squashbusters.

GUEST CELEBRITY CHEF Tyler Florence
RESTAURANT Rotisserie & Wine, Napa CA - Wayfare Tavern, San Francisco CA

For the past fifteen years, Chef Tyler Florence (www.tylerflorence.com) has delighted the masses by sharing the sights, sounds and flavors of his unique culinary vision to fans around the world.

After graduating from the prestigious culinary program at Johnson and Wales University, Florence tackled the Big Apple where he helmed multiple acclaimed restaurants and established himself as a one of New York City's finest young stars. In New York, he honed his culinary skills under the tutelage of some of the city's premier chefs, including Charlie Palmer at Aureole, Marta Pulini at Mad 61 and Rick Laakonen, ultimately moving on to become executive chef at Cafeteria.

As the buzz about the charismatic young chef's food picked up steam, a fresh new television network took notice and the rest, as they say, is history. After 12 plus years as a franchise star of the Food Network, Florence has taken his food and his wit across the globe, finely tuning what is regarded as one of America's most important culinary voices. He has starred in such series as How to Boil Water, a cooking show for novices, Food 911, his hugely popular "recipe rescue" show, as well as his signature series, Tyler's Ultimate. Florence has also hosted numerous other Food Network shows and specials, including Planet Food, All American Festivals and My Country, My Kitchen. Not to be limited to Food Network, Tyler is a regular guest on the TODAY Show, CNN, The View, The Tonight Show, Oprah, Access Hollywood, Extra, Good Morning America and more.

Tyler recently released two new top-selling cookbooks – Stirring The Pot, and Dinner at my Place (Wiley) in addition to his three previous books- Tyler's Ultimate, Eat This Book, and Real Kitchen (Clarkson Potter). In 2009, Tyler launched his signature lines of steel-clad cookware and titanium cutlery on Home Shopping Network and at major retailers across the United States, including Dillards and Macy's, for whom Tyler is a member of the prestigious Macy's Culinary Council.

In July of 2008, Tyler opened his first kitchen retail shop, The Tyler Florence Shop, in Mill Valley, just outside of San Francisco, California. Outposts of The Tyler Florence Shop will also be opening soon at San Francisco International Airport (November 2009) and in Napa (Spring 2010). And in early 2010, Tyler will open his first signature restaurants, Wayfare Tavern, in San Francisco's Financial District and El Paseo in Mill Valley. In Spring of 2010, adjacent to The Tyler Florence Shop in Napa, Tyler will also be opening a new restaurant concept, Tyler Florence Rotisserie & Wine.

Tyler lives in Mill Valley, California with his wife Tolan, and has two sons Miles, age 13, Hayden, 2, and a little girl, Dorothy, 1.

GUEST CELEBRITY CHEF Sam Choy
RESTAURANT Kai Lanai, Kahaluu-Keauhou HI

Sam Choy's years of cooking alongside his parents provided him the skills and inspiration to make him a local Hawaiian celebrity in the early 1990s. It is his exceptional creativity, love of good food and aloha for the guests he serves that has propelled him into the status of an internationally-recognized chef today. Choy's colorful personality and welcoming smile have drawn customers to his multiple restaurants over the last 30 years, but it is his award-winning cooking that keeps them coming back.

While growing up on the North Shore of O'ahu, Sam learned to cook in his parent's restaurant and work alongside them catering lu'aus for large groups of locals and tourists. In addition to his young training, living in his home state of Hawai'I with its bountiful year-round hillsides of fresh meats, vegetables, fruits and fresh fish gave Sam an upper hand at making his mark on the culinary world. Also, the multiple cultures that have gravitated to the islands isolated in the center of the South Pacific sprinkle flavors from around the world into the mix. He characterizes his cuisines as "a melting pot of the freshest ingredients from every culture on the Hawaiian Islands."

After the early days of working with his family, Sam spent twenty-plus years mastering his craft in the kitchens of noted hotels and resorts on the mainland and Hawai'i. Following the footsteps of his heritage, Sam and his wife, Carol, opened Sam Choy's in their newly adopted home town of Kailua-Kona in 1991. Years of local and international regulars enjoying Choy cuisine shave let to the opening of Sam Choy's Kai Lanai in the summer of 2011. The combination of a million-dollar view and Sam's delicious menu make this a not-to-miss dining experience on the islands.

For the last 16 years, Sam has appeared on his weekly cooking show, Sam Choy's Kitchen, on the Hawaiian Island's local NBC affiliate. He has authored 16 cookbooks, has a frozen food line with a major international distributor, has his personal recipe sauces and dressings available in national food store chains and has designed first and business class menus for American's Airlines International Flights. Choy is a four-time nominee for the James Beard Best Pacific Regional chef award, winning in 2004. He is often credited as the "Godfather of Poke" and the Culinary Ambassador of the Big Island. Sam also enjoys catering for private events and donates his time to support multiple charities.

HOST CHEF Sandy Tuason
RESTAURANT Mauna Lani Bay - Hotel & Bungalows

Chef Tuason's accomplished career included unique opportunities to train and work side by side the leading culinary talents of our times. In New York City, Chef refined his skills with Daniel Boulud and David Burke. Having spent time across the pond, Chef also trained with Star Michelin French Chefs Albert and Michel Roux in London.

CELEBRITY MIXOLOGIST Manny Hinojosa

Manny Hinojosa is a national award winning mixologist who creates his own syrups, juices and garnishes, and pours as if each drop were liquid gold. When Manny pours a drink, you can feel the passion. Manny grew up and was educated in Mexico City, and is fluent in both English and Spanish. He is extremely charismatic and enthusiastic about his craft and about Mexico's national pride, tequila. Manny is an amazing addition to the Celebrity Chef Tour dinner.

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