Sam Zien

Last updated
Sam Zien
US Navy 120124-N-KR503-033 Sam Zien, also known as.jpg
Sam Zien (right) performing a cooking demonstration in January 2012
Personal information
Born (1959-08-07) 7 August 1959 (age 64)
Occupation(s)YouTube personality, cook, author, restaurateur
Website https://www.thecookingguy.com/
YouTube information
Channels
  • The Sam Livecast (2011)
  • Sam the Cooking Guy (2011–present)
Years active2011-present
GenreCooking
Subscribers3.55 million (July 2023)
Total views570 million (July 2023)

Samuel D Zien (born August 7, 1959), known as Sam the Cooking Guy, is a Canadian-born [1] television cook, YouTuber, restaurateur, and cookbook author, based in San Diego, California.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Television career

Zien's career in television began after quitting his job as an executive for a San Diego pharmaceutical company. [2] In 2001, after a poorly timed effort to begin a career in travel television which was derailed by the September 11 attacks, he switched his focus to a cooking show. He produced his own test screening and distributed the tape to local San Diego television stations. [1] [2] San Diego's then-Fox affiliate XETV-TDT offered him a two to three minute slot during its morning news program. The job was unpaid—a situation that changed after his work earned a Regional Emmy from the National Television Academy's Pacific Southwest Chapter. [1]

In January 2005, Zien moved to County Television Network (CTN), San Diego County's public-access television, after CTN offered him a half-hour time slot on their station. His Sam the Cooking Guy show spread to other cities through agreements with sister cable companies; his work was recognized with more Regional Emmys and a book deal from John Wiley and Sons. [1]

Zien's next break came from the Discovery Health Channel, where Zien signed a deal to shoot the first season of a series called Just Grill This! [2] The network was subsequently purchased by the Oprah Winfrey Network; Zien's show was not renewed for a second season.[ citation needed ]

In 2008, Zien appeared on NBC's The Today Show in a segment with Kathy Lee Gifford and Hota Kotb. After being interrupted repeatedly during the first half of the segment, Zien suddenly spoke emphatically - "Please, can I talk? I watch the show every day, everybody has issues with a lot of chatter back here. Pay attention, one minute." A clip of the segment appeared on YouTube following its airing and in days had surpassed 2,000,000 views, with most commenters applauding Sam for his firm stance in the face of the NBC hosts. [3]

YouTube channel

On May 23, 2011, Zien premiered The Sam Livecast, an Internet cooking show originating from his home kitchen. Three new episodes per week feature food-related and other subject matters. After 200 live episodes,[ citation needed ] the production switched[ when? ] to a live-to-tape format.[ citation needed ]

After moving away from the live streamed format, The Sam Livecast transitioned into a YouTube channel under a different name - Sam the Cooking Guy - and experienced a surge in subscribers and views, reaching over 3 million subscribers by December 2021. [4] [5]

Restaurants

In July 2018, Zien opened his first restaurant - Not Not Tacos - a casual dining establishment featuring Zien's unique take on non-traditional tacos. Located within the Little Italy Food Hall in the Little Italy area of downtown San Diego, Zien serves tacos such as Korean Short Rib, Pulled Pork with Macaroni and Cheese, Seared Salmon, and Meatloaf. [6]

In March 2020, Zien opened a second restaurant in the Little Italy Food Hall, called Graze by Sam.[ clarification needed ][ citation needed ]

In April 2021, Zien opened a third also located in the Little Italy Food Hall, called Samburgers. [7]

In 2023, Zien opened a fourth restaurant in the Little Italy Food Hall, called CooCoo's Nest. It is a fried chicken outlet with a "70's flair."

Cookbooks

Zien has written five cookbooks. All were published by John Wiley & Sons except this most recent book was published by Countryman Press:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuisine of California</span> Culinary traditions of California

The cuisine of California reflects the diverse culture of California and is influenced largely by European American, Hispanic American, East Asian and Oceanian influences, and Western European influences, as well as the food trends and traditions of larger American cuisine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathie Lee Gifford</span> American actress, talk show host, and singer (born 1953)

Kathryn Lee Gifford is an American television presenter, singer, songwriter, actress, and author. From 1985 to 2000, she and Regis Philbin hosted the talk show Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee. Gifford is also known for her 11-year run with Hoda Kotb, on the fourth hour of NBC's Today show (2008–2019). She has received 11 Daytime Emmy nominations and won her first Daytime Emmy in 2010 as part of the Today team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ted Allen</span> American television personality (born 1965)

Edward Reese Allen is an American author and television personality. He was the food and wine connoisseur on the Bravo network's television program Queer Eye, and has been the host of the TV cooking competition series Chopped since its launch in 2009, as well as Chopped Junior, which began in mid-2015. On April 13, 2014, he became the host of another Food Network show, originally called America's Best Cook. A retooled version of that show, retitled All-Star Academy, debuted on March 1, 2015. In early 2015, he also hosted a four-part special, Best. Ever., which scoured America for its best burgers, pizza, breakfast, and barbecue. He is a longtime contributing writer to Esquire magazine, an author of two cookbooks, and regularly appears on the Food Network show Beat Bobby Flay and other television cooking shows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hoda Kotb</span> American journalist and author

Hoda Kotb is an American broadcast journalist, television personality, and author. She is a main co-anchor of the NBC News morning show Today and co-host of its entertainment-focused fourth hour. Kotb formerly served as a correspondent for the television news magazine program Dateline NBC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frito pie</span> American savory dish

Frito pie is a dish popular in the Midwestern, Southeastern, and Southwestern United States, whose basic ingredients are chili, cheese, and corn chips. Additions can include salsa, refried beans, sour cream, onion, rice, or jalapeños. There are many variations and alternative names used by region. Frito pie can be prepared in a casserole dish, but an alternate preparation can be in a single-serve Fritos-type corn chip bag with various ingredients as toppings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taquito</span> Mexican dish

A taquito, taco dorado, rolled taco, or flauta is a Mexican dish that typically consists of a small rolled-up tortilla that contains filling, including beef, cheese or chicken. The filled tortilla is then shallow-fried or deep-fried. The dish is often topped with condiments such as sour cream and guacamole. Corn tortillas are generally used to make taquitos. The dish is more commonly known as flautas when they are larger than their taquito counterparts, and can be made with either flour or corn tortillas.

Mary Ann Esposito is an American chef, cookbook writer, and the television host of Ciao Italia with Mary Ann Esposito, which started in 1989 and is the longest-running television cooking program in America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven Raichlen</span> American culinary writer, chef, tv host, and novelist

Steven Raichlen is an American culinary writer, TV host, and novelist.

Ching-He Huang (Chinese: 黃瀞億; pinyin: Huáng Jìngyì; Wade–Giles: Huang2 Ching4-i4;, often known in English-language merely as Ching, is a Taiwanese-born British food writer and TV chef. She has appeared in a variety of television cooking programmes, and is the author of nine best-selling cookbooks. Ching is recognized as a foodie entrepreneur, having created her own food businesses. She has become known for Chinese cookery internationally through her TV programmes, books, noodle range, tableware range, and involvement in many campaigns and causes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emeril Lagasse</span> American celebrity chef and restaurateur (born 1959)

Emeril John Lagasse III is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, television personality, cookbook author, and National Best Recipe award winner for his "Turkey and Hot Sausage Chili" recipe in 2003. He is a regional James Beard Award winner, known for his mastery of Creole and Cajun cuisine and his self-developed "New New Orleans" style. He is of Portuguese descent on his mother's side, while being of French heritage through his father.

Tobie Puttock is an Australian celebrity chef, best known for his association with British chef Jamie Oliver.

David Rosengarten is an American chef, author and television personality, who hosted or co-hosted more than 2500 television shows on the Food Network from 1994 to 2001.

<i>The Best Thing I Ever Ate</i> American TV series or program

The Best Thing I Ever Ate is a television series that originally aired on Food Network, debuting on June 22, 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melissa d'Arabian</span> American chef

Melissa Donovan d'Arabian is an American cookbook author and television show host. She won the fifth season of Food Network Star in 2009. Following her victory, she went on to host Ten Dollar Dinners on Food Network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donal Skehan</span> Irish singer, TV personality, cook, cookbook writer

Donal Skehan is an Irish television personality, presenter, food writer, cook, photographer and former singer. He is known for his television appearances, cookbooks and YouTube channel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Chow Tacos</span> Chinese-Mexican fusion food truck based in Los Angeles

Don Chow Tacos was a Chinese-Mexican fusion food truck based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on April 22, 2009, by Dominic Lau and Lawrence Lie with the motto, "Where Chino meets Latino", representing their Chinese heritage and Hispanic influences. Don Chow Tacos ceased operations on February 16, 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcela Valladolid</span> American chef and author (born 1978)

Marcela Luz Valladolid is an American chef and author. She was the host of the Food Network television series Mexican Made Easy, and a judge on the Food Network series Best Baker in America.

Whitney Michele Bond is an American television food personality, food blogger, social media consultant, and cookbook author.

The Try Guys is an American online entertainment group and media production company that produces content for their YouTube channel. The group was founded by Keith Habersberger, Ned Fulmer, Zach Kornfeld, and Eugene Lee Yang. The Try Guys are known for testing a wide range of activities, such as testing their sperm count, raising toddlers, shaving their legs, and wearing women's underwear. The four men created The Try Guys while working for BuzzFeed before forming their own company, 2nd Try LLC, in 2018. They have since expanded their company to include more than twenty employees, starred in a Food Network show titled No Recipe Road Trip, and released a book titled The Hidden Power of F*cking Up.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Babish Culinary Universe</span> American online cooking series

Babish Culinary Universe, formerly Binging with Babish, is a YouTube cooking channel created by American cook and filmmaker Andrew Rea that recreates recipes featured in film, television, and video games in the Binging with Babish series, as well as more traditional recipes in the Basics with Babish series. The first video in the series was uploaded on February 10, 2016.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Amos, Joel D. (July 2006). "The Life Of Zien". San Diego Jewish Journal. Archived from the original on 2006-10-28. Retrieved 2013-12-27.
  2. 1 2 3 "It's Sam the Cooking Guy!". Discovery Health Channel. 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-10-14. Retrieved 2013-12-27.
  3. Ripclawe (2008-07-25), Sam the Cooking guy tells Kathie Lee and Hoda be quiet , retrieved 2019-02-24
  4. "Thesamlivecast YouTube Stats, Channel Statistics - Socialblade.com". socialblade.com. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  5. "SAM THE COOKING GUY". YouTube. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  6. Woo, Candice (2018-02-07). "Sam the Cooking Guy Launching First Eatery in New Little Italy Food Hall". Eater San Diego. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  7. Samburgers Grand Opening Week, Little Italy Food Hall