By Staff Reports
(Oahu)– The Pig and The Lady’s Chef Andrew Le works alongside the culinary students at Leeward Community College to present a menu reflecting his unique perspective at the Chef Showcase Dinner on April 10, 2015. The Chef Showcase Dinner is offered once each semester, providing Leeward culinary students the chance to work along side and learn directly from Hawaii’s finest chefs. The event is open to the public.
Chef Le’s eclectic menu is inspired by Mama Le’s home cooking and the rich culinary heritage of Vietnam, Asia and the Pacific. Chef Le keeps it agile and playful and serves foods that inspire him on a whim and help promote and support the local food movement.
Chef Andrew Le
The menu features
- Salad of Sprouting Seeds seasonal fruit, chrysanthemum, otsuji farm lettuces, puffed rice, date vinaigrette
- Sashimi daily catch, citrus ice, smoked shoyu, wasabi greens
- Gnocchi octopus bolognese, saffron, crispy potato skins, pomegranate, fennel fronds
- Shinsato Farm Pork chorizo piperrada, olive oil potatoes, leeks braised in espelette & apple cider, hazelnuts, tomato seed vinaigrette, mustard greens
- Caramelized Avocado Cake local bee pollen, strawberries, pea shoots, corn gelato
Wine pairings by Master Sommelier Chuck Furuya
Seating begins at 6:00 p.m, with last seating at 7:30 p.m. Cost for the Dinner is $70; with wine the cost is $85. Please call 455-0298 for information and reservations.
About Chef Andrew Le
The term “family meal” takes on a different meaning for 2012 Hawaii Rising Star Chef Andrew Le. Born and raised in Honolulu to Vietnamese parents, Andrew had an American upbringing, but a strong connection to his Vietnamese heritage through his mother’s authentic food.
A 2001 graduate of St. Louis High School, he attended the Culinary Institute of America in New York, and completed the program in 2006. Andrew decided to return to Hawaii and immediately landed a job at Chef Mavro, under the tutelage of George Mavrothalassitis and Kevin Chong. Soon after Andrew was named sous chef.
An opportunity to explore a new restaurant concept that was becoming popular on the mainland was given to Andrew in 2011, where he started his now popular pop-up, The Pig and The Lady.
It’s at the pop-up and the farmers markets that Andrew, along with Mama Le and the rest of the Le clan, cook up what is essentially family meal in the truest sense those lucky enough to snag a table. The Pig and The Lady farmer’s market stand is selling the family’s heritage for all to eat, exposing Honolulu diners not just to the family’s take on Vietnamese staples like pho and spring rolls but also fragrant chicken salads, vegetarian stews, and French-inspired soups.
August 2012, Andrew did a six-month stagè in San Francisco at the newly opened Rich Table, which has been nominated for a James Beard Best New Restaurant award.
Andrew has returned to fully focus on The Pig & The Lady and found a permanent home for the restaurant in Chinatown, Hawaii.