By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Patsy Lum talks to Ming Tsai and gets his autograph. She said
her parents matched Ming Tsai's grandparents together in China
and that her son and Ming Tsai grew up together in California.

Foodies flock
to meet Food
Network chefs

About 4,000 people come
to the convention center to
schmooze and learn

By Betty Shimabukuro
Star-Bulletin

PATSY Lum's family is practically responsible for Ming Tsai's existence on earth.

Her parents played matchmaker for his grandparents in Nanking, China. Their families grew up together after they settled in California. He calls her "auntie."

The guard protecting the autograph line was not impressed, however, and didn't want Lum doing an end run around the side. She broke through anyway, securing an autograph for a newfound friend, Gina Ling, who'd come bearing a folder full of recipes and other Ming-related paraphernalia.

Ling said she watches Tsai's "East Meets West" nearly every day and enjoys the mix of cultures it represents. "I like him because he's open-minded," she said. "Plus, he's cute, too."

By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Curtis Aikens of "Pick of the Day" gives 4-year-old Carli Akiona
a lift up -- brother Trysten, 3, was already on stage
-- to get a closer look.

If you don't think guys who cook can be superstars, you didn't see the standing-room-only crowds packing each corner of the Hawai'i Convention Center yesterday for the chefs of the Food Network.

At Tsai's first cooking demonstration of the afternoon, the 200 seats were packed, and fans were stacked eight to 12 deep around the edges and in the back. Fifty people were in line for autographs before he even got to the table.

Similar receptions greeted Curtis Aikens of "Pick of the Day" and David Rosengarten of "Taste."

"Cooking Across America: The Hawaii Food Festival" was a celebration of culinary celebrity. Close to 4,000 people came to see the TV chefs, wine expert Michael Green and the "Ready ... Set ... Cook" competitions hosted by Sissy Biggers.

The convention center is a cavernous place -- big enough, it seems, to park a couple of airplanes. Yet this event encouraged close encounters with the stars, who smiled through countless autograph signings, handshakes and arm-around-the-shoulder photographs.

Ruth Rivera and Tom Johnson brought a lei for Rosengarten, their favorite TV chef, who said he'd wear it back to New York. They said they respect the thorough way Rosengarten reports on food, mentioning specifically an entire program he did on all the different types of salt. "His show makes you aware," Johnson said.

So, cooking knowledge was shared through the afternoon (how to properly julienne a green pepper, for example, or what wine goes best with tonkatsu). But the day was more about the fun of it all.

Said Ling, the Ming Tsai fan: "When you consider food, it should be happy."