What’s Cookin’?

Photo by Lawrence Tabudlo

Sam Choy’s in the Kitchen co-hosts Sam Choy and John Veneri are celebrating the 10th season of Hawai‘i’s beloved cooking show — and have no plans of stopping.

Imagine yourself in your kitchen. It’s nearing lunchtime and you’re starting to get hungry. You’ve opened your refrigerator for the third time — again expecting that you’ll find something appetizing to eat. But alas, all you find is the leftover chicken from a few nights ago. Bleh.

To you, it may just seem like chicken, but Sam Choy in the Kitchen co-hosts Sam Choy and John Veneri see something else. They see a chicken chow fun. They see a braised chicken stew. They see … more.

It’s the whole premise of the show, which is now in its 10th season and airs on Sundays at 6:30 p.m. on KHON2 News and at 10:30 p.m. on KHII. Choy and Veneri visit ‘ohana and local celebrities in their homes across Hawai‘i to teach them how to prepare unique and tasty meals utilizing whatever is in the fridge and pantry at the time.

“The thing that I really enjoy is listening to the feedback from people that have gone through watching this show, but more importantly, (are) now practicing what we’re doing on the show,” says Choy. “That and going into people’s homes — cooking in their homes. I’ve done many shows. I’ve done Food Network, I’ve done the original Iron Chef in Japan, all of that. But those are all staged kitchens. … Some of the fun kitchens we’ve gone out to weren’t the real laid-out kitchens, it was just a normal local Hawaiian kitchen.”

Despite it being six years ago, Choy fondly remembers the episode he and Veneri shot with Frank DeLima at his Mō‘ili‘ili home.

“The kitchen was perfect for (DeLima) cuz just him, but (it) was so small John couldn’t be in the kitchen … he kinda stuck his head around the corner,” Choy says, laughing. “I loved it. It was so small but yet, we put out some unbelievable food.”

The dynamic trio used the food found in DeLima’s fridge, which included fresh vegetables, a papaya, hamburger, tofu noodles and some questionable huli-huli chicken. They combined it with the show’s Box Choy surprise ingredients consisting of kimchi, char siu and a lemon. It resulted in a delicious meal of kimchi meatballs and chicken noodle soup with papaya and cabbage — which are just two of the many recipes that can be found in Sam Choy’s in the Kitchen Family Recipes.

Choy partnered with KHON2 to launch the cookbook, which features the most beloved dishes from the show, giving fans the opportunity to recreate these delectable recipes for their own ‘ohana. The 192-page hardcover book is not only filled with full-color recipes, but also shares Choy’s favorite dishes, stories and cooking secrets.

“The recipes are amazing,” says Veneri. “They’re from families across Hawai‘i, they’re from celebrities across Hawai‘i. There’s some of Sam’s family’s recipes, they’ve got a few of my family recipes. There’s over a 100 great recipes in there and there’s something for everyone.”

Sam Choy’s in the Kitchen Family Recipes can be found in Hawai‘i retail stores or online at mutualpublishing.com.

Sam Choy’s in the Kitchen started with just Choy and a single cameraman going to people’s houses, and had only five shows posted on YouTube before it was picked up by KHON2 in 2016. Veneri has been with KHON2 for 30 years now, having started as a sports anchor and then moving to production and marketing before becoming a co-host for Living808 and Sam Choy’s in the Kitchen. He was a production manager when Choy came in to do an initial pitch for the show. Choy’s original co-host was sick so Veneri stepped in. The station’s sales team liked their sizzle reel so much, Veneri was “voluntold” to co-host the show, and well, the rest is history.

Veneri, who is a Kamehameha Schools graduate, had actually met Choy when he played football for University of Hawai‘i.

“Honestly, I wouldn’t have wanted to do this show had I not liked him so much,” Veneri admits. “I saw his heart. I saw how he was with people.

“It was really like a partnership,” he continues. “(Choy’s) like, ‘The show’s gonna happen because of you and me, not just because of me.’ I took that and I was like, you know what? I do want to work with him and here we are 10 years later.”

Known for his signature show catchphrase, “Time to Grind,” Veneri brings much laughter and playfulness to his role. In any episode, he and Choy — who are often known as the local Laurel and Hardy — can easily be found joking with one another.

“Everything that you see happening on camera happens with us in real life,” says Veneri. “The relationship Sam and I have on camera is the exact relationship we have in our day-to-day lives.”

Veneri’s always considered himself to be a decent cook — he learned from his dad and grandmother — but says Choy has helped him with so many tricks and recipes. To this day, he’ll often call or FaceTime Choy when he has a question about a recipe.

Choy grew up in Lāʻie where he lived with his parents, two sisters and his brother.

“We were really fortunate to be raised in a home where a lot of cooking activities were going on. It was a real kind of educational part of my life with food,” reminisces Choy.

Soon after he graduated from Kahuku High School, he started working at Crouching Lion as a dishwasher. The chef would also line him up with prep work and help her cook.

Then, when he was offered a job as a cook’s helper at the then-new Turtle Bay, he was over the moon. He practiced his knife skills the whole summer before his start date. However, on his first day, he didn’t see his name on the list of cook helpers. Instead, he was led to the stewarding department.

“My heart just sank. I was so upset,” says Choy.

Not wanting to quit right on the spot, he decided he’d finish the work day and then go home and not come back. As soon as four o’ clock hit, he hopped in his Volkswagen Beetle and went home.

“My mom came out of the house and asked, ‘How was your first day of work?’” Choy recalls. “I didn’t even get out of my car. I looked at her and I said, ‘I quit. I’m not a cook’s helper. I’m washing pots and pans.’

“In 10 minutes, she went like this to me, ‘You know, maybe your career becoming a cook, I think maybe learning how to be a good pot washer … that kind of adds to your future, that makes you a stronger person in the kitchen.’

“I went back (to work) with a whole different attitude,” he continues. “If it wasn’t for my mom’s 10-minute speech … I would’ve just been a runner. I would have gone from job to job to job. And that’s why I tell people … there’s a reason why you get a little setback, but it’s how you approach your setback and how you take your setback to move it to the next level.”

He’d go on to work 21 years in hotels before opening his own restaurants, including Sam Choy’s Kaloko in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island, which was named by the James Beard Foundation as one of America’s Classics restaurants in 2004. He’s appeared in several Food Network programs, including Ready … Set …  Cook!, Chopped  and Iron Chef.

Now, at 73 years old, Choy is busier than ever. Most recently, he was invited by Jason Momoa to Apple TV+’s Chief of War premiere event at Ko ‘Olina Beach Park, where he hosted a poke bar featuring 800 pounds of Kaua‘i’s freshest fish to the 3,500 people who were at the event.

This past June, he participated in University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center Five Star Sensation, Ohio’s premier culinary event started by chef and restaurateur Wolfgang Puck, which raises vital funds for cancer patients and their families — an event that he’s been a part of for 12 years.

“My mom died of ovarian cancer so, I always pledged myself to give back,” says Choy. “We raised over $122 million in the 12 years for cancer research.”

Living true to his nickname as the “Godfather of Poke,” Choy also recently hosted the annual Kaua‘i Poke Fest at Kōloa Landing Resort. For the first time ever, the event — which Choy founded five years ago — was a two-day celebration and featured more than 1,000 pounds of fresh ahi tuna, 30-plus teams and 120 chefs competing for the title of Kaua‘i’s best poke.

Choy also spends his time investing in the next generation. He’s involved in multiple organizations, including No Kid Hungry, WaterHope and the Lili‘uokalani Trust, which supports children who come from homes in need of support.

“When you become successful — and success doesn’t have to mean you got a wad of money in the bank — you have that free will of knowing that you can, you can reach out, you can help, you can make a difference,” Choy says. “It’s important to help people that are struggling.”

The show’s hosts are grateful to be active participants in the local food landscape.

“When you look at food in Hawai‘i, we are so blessed to be part of this opportunity to live (in) … the most greatest culinary world, Hawai‘i,” says Choy. “We’re never going to have that limelight like New York has or Chicago or California with Napa and San Francisco. What we do have is a great mixture of culture and food.”

They’re also delighted at the support they’ve received over the years, and welcome new viewers to tune in each week.

“If you want to learn a simple recipe with stuff that you probably either have in your pantry, your cupboard or in your fridge, this is the show for you,” Veneri says.

Even after a decade of working together on the tube, the formidable pair sound like they’re still hungry to inform and entertain.

Or as Choy says, “We’re not done yet.”