Though he’s shuttered his signature restaurant in Honolulu, Alan Wong is deemed to be the richest celebrity chef in the world.
The laurel comes in an article, assembled by the Wealthy Gorilla (a site that assembles a variety of best-of lists and cites Money Inc. and Celebrity Net Worth among its sources), which says Wong’s net worth is $1.1 billion, topping an elitist Top 20 that includes household names such as Jamie Oliver (No. 2), Nobu Matsuhisa (No. 4), Rachel Ray (No. 7), Guy Fieri (No. 20), Bobby Flay (No. 9), Giada de Laurentiis (No. 17) and Ina Garten (No. 11).
“Alan Wong is the richest celebrity chef in the world,” the article says.
Of course, we know him well in the islands; he’s one of 12 restaurateurs who founded the Hawaii Regional Cuisine to emphasize farm-to-table homegrown ingredients and diverse influences that created a then-new American regional cuisine.
His isle restaurants, plus one in Japan, enabled him to amass a cooking/restaurant formula that topped more than $1 billion.
Among his credits: serving as a judge on the Food Network’s “Top Chef” competition, but perhaps his best known feather in his kitchen cap, preparing a luau feast at the White House lawn for then-president Barack Obama, another local he did pretty well in polling. …
For the Top 20 listing and the story, visit https://wealthygorilla.com/richest-celebrity-chefs/ …
Hither and yon…
Two shows at Medici’s at Manoa Marketplace that are worth checking out:
- Honolulu Jazz Quartet, July 16. John Kolivas and his jazz musicians perform original and popular jazz tunes.
- Johnny Valentine Trio, July 17. The evening’s theme is “Hawaii’s Hits of the. ‘70s,” so anticipate a menu of Cecilio and Kapono, Kalapana, The Sunday Manoa, Keola and Kapono Beamer and more.
- For reservations, visit https://medicissupperclub.com/
Out Maui way, the popular Wednesday Hawaiiana event, George Kahumoku Jr.’s Slack Key Show, is adding a Saturday night extra, from 6:30 p.m. every Saturday (starting this weekend) from 6:30 p.m., at the same venue, the Aloha Pavilion of the Napili Kai Beach Resort. Get tickets at slackkeyshow.com, using promo code SAT25NOW. …
MVT’s ‘Daddy’ has ‘legs’
Manoa Valley Theatre’s “Daddy Long Legs” has “legs,” the show biz term to indicate power at the box office.
The musical, in its premier Hawaii run, has been extended for an additional four performances, at 7:30 p.m. July 16, at 3 and 7:30 p.m. July 17 and at 3 p.m. July 18. Because of the current pandemic, social distancing protocols prevail, with seats spaced out accordingly. Visit www.manoavalleytheatre.com …
And that’s “Show Biz.”…
Thanks for news about Johnny Valentine and also Alan Wong. Wonder who’s in the trio with Johnny.
Surprising! I would never have guessed, but awesome for him! ? I miss Pineapple Room!