Cooking demonstration with Award winning chef John Howie
Sunday at 11am, 12:30, 2:00, 3:30 and 5:00.

John Howie was born in Chicago and moved to the Seattle area in the late 1960’s, beginning his culinary career at age 15. His training ground was many of Seattle’s finest restaurants.

As opening chef at Palisade in June of 1992 and during his ten-year tenure, the restaurant gained the status of Seattle’s premier special occasion destination dining spot.

John gained notoriety for bringing unique, specialty foods to the Seattle table. He originated the use of planks for restaurant service and launched a culinary website "plankcooking.com". John has also authored two cookbooks for plank cooking, "The Cedar Plank Cookbook" and “The Plank Cookbook”.

On March 11, 2002 he opened Seastar Restaurant and Raw Bar in Bellevue – a culmination of his dream to showcase the best of the Pacific Northwest in both quality and preparation, in his own establishment.

John and Seastar have been honored and praised in many publications, radio and television shows both locally and nationally including Food & Wine, Wine Spectator, Sunset, Martha Stewart Living, CBS Early Morning Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, Food Network, Wine Spectator, Sunset Magazine, and KING TV 5 Evening Magazine. The restaurant received the highest rating in the Zagat Survey for “Top Cuisine – Seafood” and “Top Cuisine - Raw Bars” in a city lauded for its seafood establishments, as well as top ratings in “Most Popular”, “People Watching”, “Power Scenes”, “Service” and “Décor”. Other food honors include AOL City Search Best Seafood, top honors from the Seattle Weekly, WHERE Magazine, Haute Picks and The Best of Washington. Seastar has also garnered top honors at the Crystal Beverage Awards, taking home “Best Bar Program” - AWARD OF PRESTIGE and “Best Wine List (301 - 1000 Selections)” - AWARD OF PRESTIGE. The restaurant’s wine offerings have repeatedly been recognized with the Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence, by Wine Enthusiast Magazine and the Washington Wine Restaurant Awards.


In January of 2005 John joined forces with several sports celebrity investors and opened SPORT Restaurant & Bar – a high tech sports restaurant that serves everything from Kobe beef burgers and thin crust pizza to prime steaks and meal-sized salads. This casual yet sophisticated restaurant is outfitted with huge HDTV’s as well as personal televisions, which allow guests the option of watching events of their choice from the privacy of a booth while dining. SPORT features a specially outfitted broadcast table where celebrity interviews and pre- and post-game shows for the Sonics and Mariners are broadcast.

He launched Adriatic Grill Italian Cuisine & Wine Bar in early 2008 with partner Chef Bill Trudnowski. Located in Tacoma, Washington, the restaurant features fresh seasonal cuisine from the countries that border the Adriatic Sea. It has been honored with a 2011 Washington Wine Certificate of Recognition, as a restaurant building support of the Washington wine industry.

John started 2009 by opening a spectacular new Seastar Restaurant & Raw Bar in Seattle on January 27th – within the 2200 Westlake project and a short walk to Seattle’s downtown retail, arts and theater corridor as well as Seattle Center. Located adjacent to the Pan Pacific Seattle Hotel and upstairs from Whole Foods Market, the restaurant includes a spacious dining area seating 150, a separate bar seating 50, a private dining room and outdoor “al fresco” dining.

On September 12, 2009 he opened a signature steakhouse – John Howie Steak, located at Bellevue’s ultra-chic shopping area known as “The Shops at The Bravern” (anchored by such luxury stores as Neiman Marcus, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Ferragamo and Jimmy Choo Shoes). The 9,000 square foot venue features two private dining rooms and a piano lounge. Guests can look forward to an incredible dining experience with hardwood grilled USDA Prime steaks; Chateaubriand and Rack of Lamb served tableside; artisan cheeses; the Northwest's best selection of single malt scotches and cognacs; and a grand selection of Washington and international wines by the bottle, or by the glass from the Enomatic wine preservation systems. John Howie Steak was featured in June, 2012 on KCTS 9’s popular television show Check Please! where it received high praise as a guest favorite.

Chef Howie has been honored with an invitation to cook at the prestigious James Beard House in New York City on six separate occasions (the latest being November 28, 2012) and represents Washington State annually at the SuperBowl in The Taste of the NFL. He is a repeat guest at the Epcot Food & Wine Festival, the Naples Food and Wine Festival, and has been a guest chef on Holland America cruise line.

John has just authored a beautiful hardbound cookbook titled Passion & Palate: Recipes for a Generous Table, released on November 30, 2011. With almost 250 recipes and over 80 gorgeous color shots, Chef Howie shares from the heart stories, recipes, thoughts and tips that have guided him throughout his career.

A major philanthropic force within the community, John is the recipient of a rarely bestowed Excellence Award from the mayor of Bellevue recognizing his outstanding commitment to charitable giving. Working with several local groups such as Food Lifeline, Hopelink and Overlake Service League, John focuses on giving back to the community in a meaningful way, supporting the fight against hunger, education, the arts, human and animal rights, and the fight against disease. Seastar Restaurant and Raw Bar is honored to be the winner of the Washington Good Neighbor Award and John has donated over $800,000 in time, services, gift certificates and in-kind goods, generating over $3,000,000 in charitable giving to date.
 

Passion & Palate: Recipes for a Generous Table

Award winning chef John Howie, a man known as much for his spirit of generosity as his award winning fare, shares recipes from his restaurants and for life in his book, Passion & Palate: Recipes for a Generous Table. This gorgeously photographed, hardbound book, printed on fine-quality coated stock, includes guest and family favorites from Seastar Restaurant and Raw Bar, John Howie Steak, SPORT Restaurant & Bar, and Adriatic Grill Italian Cuisine & Wine Bar.

Each recipe was tested numerous times by a dedicated team of over 300 volunteer home cooks and food enthusiasts to make sure that all were kitchen friendly at any level of expertise. Testers gave a wholehearted response to the many cooking tips that John offers within the book’s pages as well as the wine pairing suggestions by Howie’s close friend and Company Wine Director Erik Liedholm. His recommendations include those for a “life is too short” pick as well as a “just because it’s inexpensive, doesn’t mean you’re cheap” bottle.

As Seattle restaurateur Maria Hines says: “John’s food is as warm and soulful as his heart and as focused and driven as his mind. This cookbook is well rounded to use at home for every season and for every occasion. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!”

Those thumbing through the pages are bound to get caught up in tales of Howie’s childhood, his reflections on community giving and the stunning shots of his dishes. His bigheartedness is mirrored in his “never say no” philosophy of contributing, and over the years John has quietly provided hundreds of thousands of dollars of in-kind donations, generating several million dollars of charitable giving. He has orchestrated hundreds of philanthropic events such as a recent “Stone Soup” food drive for Food Lifeline and an annual Thanksgiving Day dinner that feeds an average of 500 needy at a three-course, sit-down meal fully staffed by volunteers.
 

www.seastarrestaurant.com