NAME:
Laautuvanu Sualua Tupolo
BIRTHPLACE:
American Samoa
KNOWN FOR:
Director of Food Service and Executive Chef at Southwestern Adventist University. Also one of the more well-known chefs promoting healthy plant-based food around the world in his cooking and cooking classes.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
Studied at San Francisco City College: Culinary Arts; Living Light Culinary Arts School for Raw Food; and the Weimar Institute’s Culinary Arts program, known for their successes in reversing diabetes.
His first chef’s job was at Host International, Charley Brown’s Restaurant; an upscale steak and lobster house in 1979. Since that time he has held positions as Sous Chef, Chef Departie, Chef Tournant, and Line Cook for such prestigious companies as the Intercontinental Hotels, Hyatt Regency, Lacosta Hotel and other fine restaurants. Tupolo has travelled throughout the United States and the Pacific Islands sharing his passion and expertise for the vegan/plant-based diet. He loves teaching people how to prepare tasty and attractive vegan dishes. His presentations include tips on nutritional and medicinal benefits of the plant-based diet.
1989 – As a native of American Samoa, Tupolo returned to serve as the Executive Chef for the Rainmaker Hotel as well as the Pacific Islands famous Sadie’s Thompson Inn. He has served as an exclusive chef for three governors of American Samoa preparing meals for dignitaries, members of Parliament, heads of state, the King of Tonga, Congress and Senate members.
2000 – The call to teach, study and practice a vegan life style lured him back to the academic world. Tupolo’s passion is teaching vegan culinary arts. He was Director and Executive Chef at Atlantic Union College which boasts an all vegetarian campus and features an all Vegan Culinary Arts program located in South Lancaster, MA.
2000 – He also taught Vegan Culinary Arts for the Cancer Project based out of Washington, DC. The program promotes a vegan diet along with the scientific studies as a means of preventing cancer and maintaining one’s health after being diagnosed with cancer.
He has presented vegan cooking classes before the US House of Representatives, members of Congress and their staffers on Capitol Hill, been featured on the 3 ABN TV Food for Thought series and has been the subject of numerous articles in both newspapers and magazines.
2008 – Won a Bronze Award during the 29th annual Telly Awards for the Seventh-day Adventist-owned Hope Channel in the ‘Education’ category
Chef Tupolo is one of the first well known Samoan Vegan Chefs