Chef Sheldon Simeon’s Second Cookbook is For Everyone

“Ohana Style,” which comes out in March 2026, is a collection of over 100 recipes that are simple, flavorful and shareable.

It’s been four years since Hilo-born chef Sheldon Simeon published his first cookbook, “Cook Real Hawaiʻi,” putting local favorites like pork adobo, wok-fried poke and Spam musubi on a culinary pedestal.

And he’s been busy.

The two-time “Top Chef” finalist, who continues to run Tin Roof in Kahului, Maui, earned a James Beard Award nomination in 2022 for Best Chef: Pacific Northwest. That same year, he and his wife, Janice, bought the beloved Tiffany’s Restaurant & Bar, revitalizing the menu with dishes like local-style saimin, honey-walnut shrimp and an addictive pickled cucumber paired with a mayo-shoyu dip. Oh, and he earned another two James Beard nominations.

READ MORE: This Popular Maui Restaurant Gets a “Top Chef” Makeover

And he’s been working on his second cookbook, “Ohana Style,” which will be released in March 2026. (You can preorder a copy on Amazon here.)

“With this book, I wanted to create something fun and approachable,” Simeon says. “Unlike the first cookbook, which was very much through the lens of Hawaiʻi, this one isn’t limited to that. These are everyday recipes, things anyone can cook without feeling intimidated.”

For him, the concept of ʻohana goes beyond family in the literal sense. It extends to friends, neighbors, co-workers and the larger community. That concept inspired the recipes in a collection of over 100 recipes that are simple, flavorful and shareable.

“This book blends my chef career with my role as a parent,” says Simeon, a father of four. “I know how hard it can be to pull a meal together when life is busy, so these recipes are simple, creative and delicious, often inspired by flavors from around the world, not just Hawaiʻi. The idea wasn’t to have a big message behind every dish, but to put together recipes that people will actually enjoy cooking and sharing.”

Still, as with his bestselling debut cookbook, this one showcases the diverse flavors and ingredients of the Islands. But it’s not focused on Hawaiʻi-specific foods. In this book, you’ll find everything from mango sticky rice waffles with coconut syrup to Filipino spaghetti bake.

READ MORE: Summer Mango Bread Recipe

And unlike his first book, this one, he says, is more about how he cooks for his family, more “off-the-cuff, fun, quick recipes and creative ways to get a meal on the table.”

One of his favorite recipes in the book is a sauteed Caesar salad with something unexpected: anchovy croutons.

“It takes a dish everyone already knows and, instead of changing the ingredients, it changes the way you prepare it,” he says. “By adding a simple cooking technique, the salad becomes something completely new and exciting. That’s really what this book is about—finding fresh ways to look at food and having fun with it.”

Catherine Toth Fox is the former editor of HAWAIʻI Magazine and continues to contribute to the website and print publication.