Sam Zien

Sam Zien is the first to tell you he is no chef. His television show, “Sam the Cooking Guy” sets him apart from the culinary institute-trained crowd. His whole niche is just that: Zien is a regular guy. The Canadian-born Zien may stand out because of his Great White North accent, but his appeal reaches much further. “I thought it was imperative to differentiate myself from chefs. The term “chef” is a term of respect that you have earned through experience or education - neither of which I have. I wanted to be seen as a regular guy because that is what I am. My goal is not to get people to go to a restaurant, my goal is for people to say “Hey, I can make that.” Zien awoke on 9/11 to have his life drastically altered by the day’s horror. He had left his Biotech career in July 2001 and was set to shoot a travel show demo across Asia in November. “That September changed thousands of people’s lives way more significantly than it changed mine, but I still had quit my job to go do that,” he says. He had a full crew employed and his dream within reach. It all fell with the World Trade Center. Stunned and recoiling like so many in the days that followed, Zien knew the last thing anyone wanted to hear about was getting on an airplane looking for adventures abroad. With sons Max, Jordan and Zack to think about, Zien moved quickly. “I didn’t have a job. I needed to rethink completely what I was going to do,” he said. “The travel show was a regular guy going places that were supposed to be complicated. I needed to find a different concept for that regular guy.”

Scanning the food shows that have overtaken television, he noticed a void. None of these culinary artists were relatable. “I chose cooking not because I was a great chef, but because of the hole there. Nobody was showing you how to make things in a casual, simple sort of way with lots of entertainment.”

The experience of launching a show, even if it never saw the light of day, was not new. Applying those lessons, he created a “Sam the Cooking Guy” demo tape. Beginning with local television stations’ morning shows allowed him a greater chance of success. They were free of the national network demands of “Today” and its kin. That only left KUSI, Channel 51 and Fox 6. “This has to work,” Zien told himself at the time, thinking of his paternal responsibilities. “If not, then I have to become an accountant which wouldn’t work, because I can’t add to save my life.”

Soon after sending his first cooking demo, the phone rang and Fox 6 wanted to see what he could do with their morning news. “I came off like a breath of fresh air,” Zien said. They immediately made “The Cooking Guy” a regular two or three minute feature. Although not paid, he was getting closer to his dream and receiving accolades in the process. “My first year out, we won two Emmys,” Zien said. And with the Emmys, Fox opened the coffers. He was now getting paid to be “Sam the Cooking Guy.”

In late 2004, CTN, the County of San Diego’s network, approached him about bringing the show in a full half-hour version to their station. To have his own show seemed the perfect next move, even if some thought he was crazy. “People have heard of Fox. They’d tell me “you’re going to leave that and stay on CTN - what is that? I have to stick with what I believe in,” Zien said.

“Sam the Cooking Guy” debuted in its current format in January 2005, airing 14 times a week across the county and the nation. Through agreements with sister cable companies, the show’s expanse revealed itself to Zien in the form of emails from Las Vegas to New York City. His co-star and beloved dog, retriever Halley, also gets her share. The furry Zien appears in every episode. “She is as much a part of the show as anything else,” he proudly said.

Thus far “Sam the Cooking Guy” has won eight Emmys. Zien is currently writing his first cookbook for John Wiley and Sons.