Keeping it simple: Sam the Cooking Guy now has cookbook, DVD set and more shows

By LINDSEY BESECKER - Staff Writer | Wednesday, December 24, 2008 8:04 PM PST ∞

The guy next door just keeps getting cooler.

Carmel Valley resident Sam Zien, a "regular guy" also known as Sam the Cooking Guy, has been cooking for the average viewer on television for years. It started in 2001 as a two-minute segment on the local news twice a week. But now, he keeps coming out with cool stuff ---- he's reaching out to viewers across the country with a new cookbook riddled with hints of his sense of humor, a DVD set and his TV cooking show.

"I never thought about a book," Zien said last week. "I never thought about a 30-minute show. I was thinking about two-minute segments."

Zien didn't grow up wanting to be a cook ---- or even wanting to be on TV. Originally from Vancouver, Canada, he started out in advertising before opening a frozen yogurt shop in Phoenix. He got his real estate license, and when it came in the mail, he and his wife, Kelly, moved to San Diego. After that, he was working in biotech.

"I was never one of those people who knew what I wanted to do," Zien said.

A trip to Tokyo with his brother-in-law started him in another direction. After discovering the city with no Japanese language skills of his own or any previous knowledge of what it had to offer, he decided his next venture in life was to do a travel show.

"I wanted to encourage people to go to places that they thought were out of reach," he said.

Zien pulled together a video crew he had worked with through his biotech job. The crew was a month away from going to Hong Kong to film the first show when Sept. 11, 2001, happened.

"It changed everything," he said, "for a lot of people."

Zien spent his time after that channel-surfing from his sofa. He would watch the local news, which occasionally featured chefs who would cook extravagant dishes to promote their restaurants. Zien's next idea was born.

"What if somebody cooked in a really basic way with really basic ingredients?" he remembered thinking. He wanted to encourage people to want to make food themselves instead of having to go out to eat somewhere.

Zien called the camera crew back, and they started looking for a traditional kitchen to use for filming.

"There was never anything good," he said. "They were too big, small, ugly, too many windows.

"I said, 'You know what, it's a show for regular people. I'll just use my kitchen.' "

And "Sam the Cooking Guy" has taken off since then. The show airs on local stations in Orange County, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Georgia, Virginia and more (including Channel 4 here). There's a show on Discovery Health called "Just Cook This! with Sam the Cooking Guy" and another on FitTV with the same name. Zien's cookbook, "Just a Bunch of Recipes," was released in March, and two more books are on the way. A 24-episode DVD set was released last week.

And Sam's fans are all around the country.

In his kitchen last week, Zien read a letter from a 10-year-old fan sprinkled with references to ingredients he uses in his dishes and admiration for his work. He spoke of 25-year-old guys in a bar who recognized him and spouted off their favorite recipes. And he talked about the elderly couple who told him his show encouraged them to cook again.

"That's the part of the thing I love best," he said. "I can't be honored enough."

The famous red kitchen was remodeled earlier this year, and the show took to the road during those months. Zien cooked everywhere from his cul-de-sac to a friend's backyard to the San Diego Padres dugout to an aircraft carrier. Some viewers may also remember his show in a motorhome on I-5, when the vehicle had to pull into a Cardiff parking lot because Zien and an assistant began feeling the effects of motion sickness.

Zien has also made a few stops at the "Today" show ---- and one recent visit lives on in YouTube history (with almost 500,000 views) after Zien told hosts Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb to stop talking.

"If it was my mom and her friends or a teacher or a grandparent, I would have said the same thing," Zien said. "I wasn't being rude. I was there to do what I was brought to do."

But appearing on national shows hasn't changed Zien's focus. The guy who likes to get up early on Sunday mornings to watch his favorite shows on TiVo ---- he's a huge "Top Chef" fan ---- is staying focused on catering to regular people. His show is shot with a handheld camera (that's how he wants it), he doesn't rehearse before shooting, and sometimes he doesn't even test his recipes before filming.

And he tries to keep things simple ---- last week, he made his Banana Bread French Toast with banana bread he bought in single-serving packages from a gas station.

"Whenever I think I've done something too simple, people will come up to me and say 'Thank you,' " he said. "If I start cooking with foie gras, people would be like, '----, really?' ...

"It can't be too basic as long as I keep in mind that I'm still trying to teach."

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FAST FACTS

Sam Zien, aka Sam the Cooking Guy

Born: Vancouver, Canada

Family: Wife, Kelly, and sons, Zach, Jordan and Max

Favorite North County restaurants: Sbicca, Market, Arterra

Favorite kitchen utensils: A good knife and tongs

Good items to keep around: Jarred roasted red peppers, pasta and gnocchi, and a loaf of bread (even keep one in the freezer)

Web site: thecookingguy.com