Rising Star Chef Quinten Frye of Salt Kitchen & Tasting Bar - Biography

2012 Hawaii Rising Star Sustainability Chef Quinten Frye began his kitchen career washing dishes and waiting tables. But he knew his destiny was as a chef and, ultimately, an advocate for sustainability. A San Antonio native, Frye graduated from the Texas Culinary Academy, which led him to first work under Chef Thomas Salamunovich in Vail, Colorado, and next under Rising Star Restaurateur and Chef Tyson Cole at Austin sushi temple, Uchi.

In the heart of Texas’s farm-to-table movement, Frye continued to gain experience in Austin with a chef de partie position at the Four Seasons Hotel. And when sustainable seafood-centric Shoreline Grill opened in town, Frye jumped at the chance to work as chef de cuisine in the first Texas restaurant certified by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. After Shoreline closed, Frye staged for three months at The Restaurant in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

On the move again, Frye set his sights squarely on Hawaii—a region that has both major sustainability challenges (80 percent of food is imported) and amazing wild and farmed local product. On the islands, he worked first at 12th Ave. Grill, and he then helped Honolulu Restaurateur Kevin Hanney open Salt Kitchen & Tasting Bar, where Frye is now part-owner and chef. At Salt, Frye continues his push for sustainability through supporting a network of Oahu farmers, using whole animal butchery, and making dishes that focus on line-caught fish and local octopus. It’s vibrant, retro, regional cuisine that happens to be cooked by a talented and committed chef crusader.