Chef Choy is an internationally recognized Hawaiian celebrity chef known for his colorful personality, exceptional creativity, and true Hawaiian heritage cooking.
Chef Choy has authored 16 cookbooks, is a four-time nominee for the James Beard Best Pacific Regional chef award, winning in 2004, has spent over 20-years mastering his craft in the kitchens of noted hotels & resorts on the mainland and Hawaii, and appears on his weekly cooking show, Cooking with Sam.
Chef Aarón Sánchez is an award-winning chef, TV personality, author, and philanthropist. He is the chef/owner of Johnny Sánchez in New Orleans. A judge on FOX’s hit culinary competition series MasterChef and MasterChef Junior. The founder of the Aarón Sánchez Impact fund an organization dedicated to empowering Latin youth through culinary education. Host and executive producer of Warner Bros Discovery’s El Toque de Aarón and El Sabor de Aarón. Partner and creative director of Cocina, the first online content platform dedicated to celebrating Latin lifestyle through its vibrant culinary culture.
Chef Sánchez will be a member of our special expert panel that will be helping select the winner of the 2023 Kauai Poke Fest.
Chef Ronnie Rainwater worked with celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse in Las Vegas for more than two decades starting as executive sous chef and now oversees all of Emeril’s Las Vegas concepts as well as Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House and Delmonico Steakhouse. A graduate from the Western Culinary Institute in Portland, Oregon, Chef Rainwater is known for his love of simple and fresh ingredients which he uses to help him craft ambitious nightly tasting menus for his guests.
Chef Rainwater will be a member of our special expert panel that will be helping select the winner of the 2023 Kauai Poke Fest.