Alan Wong

Early Years

Alan Wong learned to appreciate home cooking from his family. Born in Tokyo, he was five when the family relocated to Hawaii. His Chinese paternal grandfather was an excellent cook, and his mother shared the flavorful cooking of her Japanese heritage. Over the years, food in the Wong household evolved to take on certain Western characteristics as well as some of the many ethnic influences throughout Hawaii. These food memories would serve him very well one day.

As a child, not only was Alan Wong a very picky eater, his first attempts at cooking were neither remarkable nor successful - an over boiled hot dog that actually exploded and some instant saimin noodles. So while cooking as a profession was not even a passing thought, Wong did end up in the restaurant world, albeit as a dishwasher at Don the Beachcomber. After promotions to busboy, waiter, host, cashier, and assistant manager, he decided to attend culinary school to expand his knowledge of the food and beverage business.

Following graduation from Kapiolani Community College in Honolulu and some entry level professional cooking experience, Wong left Hawaii for an apprentice position at the Greenbrier Hotel in West Virginia. After finishing the program, on a trip to New York Wong met acclaimed French chef Andre Soltner of Lutece and arranged to work for him for what turned out to be a dream job and a three year long inspiring culinary experience.

Current Projects

Although Chef Wong had his dream job at Lutece he was homesick for Hawaii and decided to move back and begin a new phase of his culinary journey. While his love for cooking was now clearly established, he also found satisfaction in the teaching and training aspects within a restaurant kitchen, so he accepted a position teaching at the same college where he got his start. But realizing his true passion was cooking, he accepted a position as opening chef for The Canoe House at the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel on the Big Island where he helped develop and establish Hawaiian Regional Cuisine (aka East-West, aka Pacific Rim Fusion, aka Euro-Asian). He also had the experience of putting a French and Mediterranean twist on Hawaiian Regional style at the hotel’s Le Soleil. Hawaiian Regional cuisine is a contemporary, eclectic style that utilizes local ingredients and the melting pot of ethnic influences found in Hawaii today.

Recognition

Ultimately the many and varied experiments and experiences Alan Wong had at Mauna Lani, including the major annual “Cuisines of the Sun” food and wine events, brought him to the conclusion that it was time to open his own restaurant. In April 1995, he opened Alan Wong’s in Honolulu, receiving immediate accolades, local support, and ultimately international fame. Using the theme of a special meal he had once prepared for Cuisines of the Sun, in 1999, Alan Wong's New Wave Luau: Recipes from Honolulu's Award-Winning Chef was published. The restaurant has received Best New Restaurant and Restaurant of the Year awards. Chef Alan was named Chef of the Year/Pacific and Northwest Region in 1996 by the James Beard Foundation.