Today on our episode #397 of All in the Industry®, Shari Bayer’s guest is Lee Anne Wong, Executive Chef and Owner of Koko Head Cafe in Honolulu, Hawaii. A native of Troy, NY, Lee Anne graduated from the International Culinary Center (ICC), formerly known as the French Culinary Institute, in NYC, and began her culinary training at Marcus Samuelsson’s Aquavit before playing an integral role in the opening of Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Restaurant 66. She went on to work as the Executive Chef of Event Operations at ICC, during which time she was featured on Season One of Bravo’s Flagship Series Top Chef, and subsequently was hired as the series’ Supervising Culinary Producer for the next 6 seasons, helping to build the show into the powerhouse that it is today. Lee Anne has also appeared as a competitor on The Next Iron Chef, Chopped, and Tournament of Champions, as well as participated on Season 17 of Top Chef All Stars. In late 2013, Lee Anne moved from NYC to Honolulu where in 2014, she debuted Koko Head Cafe—an island style brunch house in the Kaimuki neighborhood—to popular acclaim, and was recognized on the cover of Honolulu Magazine, as well as in Bon Appétit and Food & Wine, among other publications. In August 2014, she released her first cookbook, Dumplings All Day Wong, and in 2016, she joined Hawaiian Airlines as a guest chef, and in 2018, she was named Executive Chef for the airline. In March of 2019, she moved to Maui with family, and her latest project was Papa’aina, where she was reimagining the restaurant at the Pioneer Inn, Maui’s oldest hotel located in historic Old Lahaina at the Harbor. In August of 2023, Lee Anne and residents of Maui were suddenly faced with wildfires, which devastated large sections of their homeland, losing the restaurant and hotel. On today’s show, Shari sits down with Lee Anne in Chicago during the James Beard Awards weekend in June to talk about her impressive career and the impact of this tragedy, and what we can do to help.
Today’s show also features Shari’s PR tip to support people and businesses, especially when they are in times of need, and Solo Dining experience at Lula Cafe, Chef and Owner Jason Hammel’s market-driven restaurant in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary, and recently won for Outstanding Hospitality at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards 2024, which is a part of Shari’s “On the Road” coverage of #JBFA on episode #396.
**Check out Shari’s book, Chefwise: Life Lessons from Leading Chefs Around the World (Phaidon) #chefwisebook
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