Hawaii meets Vietnam meets south Louisiana

Family-owned Spahr’s Seafood Restaurant and Catering has a combination of unique expertise in catering chef Woodrow Vick and corporation chef Minh Lee.

“We are able to offer a lot of different variety with Woody’s and Minh’s knowledge in culinary arts,” said Brent Rogers, co-owner of Spahr’s Seafood Company.

Vick, a native of Hawaii, came stateside at a young age to live with his adoptive parents in North Carolina. His passion for cooking was ignited while watching the family’s Jamacain cook prepare meals.

Unsure about a career path, Vick’s mother directed him into the culinary arts.

“My mother was an avid traveler and she thought culinary arts would be the perfect career choice for me,” he explained.

So, in the mid-1970s, Vick embarked on a culinary journey that took him to cooking schools in New York and Spain. His most notable job was working as executive chef aboard the MS/Skyward with Norwegian Cruise Lines.

Vick later moved to Palm Springs, Fla., where he met and married a young woman from Morgan City.

The couple relocated to the Tri-parishes.

After some time in the Bayou Country, Vick decided he wanted to open his own catering business. About that time, he spotted a Spahr’s sign and went to Thibodaux to meet Lee.

“We started talking and he told me that they were looking for someone with my expertise,” Vick said. “I was happy to set aside my dream and join the Spahr’s family.”

Lee has been with Spahr’s for years. Born in Vietnam, Lee was adopted by a Covington, La., couple in the early 1980s.

He credits his American father, Harold Field, for his cooking passion. “My dad was always in the kitchen cooking,” Lee said. “I started helping him and it all fell into place.”

After graduating from the renowned John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University, Lee served as an executive chef in restaurants in New York, Las Vegas and Baton Rouge before taking the corporate chef job at Spahr’s.

Both have found their niche creating memorable south Louisiana cuisine.

Catering chef Woodrow Vick holds a platter of Chef Vick’s Coconut Shrimp and Pineapple Salsa.