Tastemaker: The FedEx Fishmonger | Wayne Samiere

Wayne Samiere has been crazy for fish since he caught his first, as a boy in California. Yet a career as a marine biologist doing research in a lab proved unsatisfying. "I just missed fish and wanted to get my hands back on them," says Samiere, who left California for Hawaii and a job with a seafood wholesaler. By the time he launched Honolulu Fish Company from his garage in 1995, Samiere knew the piscatory potential of the local waters, as well as sustainable ways of harvesting it. He also knew he could offer chefs something special: 30 types of wild Pacific seafood, including 14 sashimi-grade varieties, delivered just 24 hours after being pulled off the lines. Today, Samiere is FedEx's number-one user in Hawaii, sending fish to such restaurants as Chanterelle in New York City and Tru in Chicago. Now you can have his exquisite fish delivered overnight to your door, too. DETAILS From $15 a pound, including shipping; honolulufish.com.

Published December 2004