Glenn Connelly / Photo Editor

Sam “the Cooking Guy” Zien is an average Joe when it comes to cooking. He doesn’t use fancy ingredients or chef terminology. He has no ridiculously over-the-top recipes, and he even prefers burritos from a taco stand to dining at an expensive restaurant. Overall, Zien just cooks good food 8212; with a sense of humor.

As a rising celebrity in San Diego, Zien has a cooking show on Channel 4 San Diego and Discovery Health. He also has 11 Emmys underneath his belt.

Zien stands out from the other cooks and TV food hosts because he has no formal training and highly encourages eaters to improvise and experiment when creating meals. His recipes bring out the chef in every person with dishes that are simple to make and, of course, outrageously delicious. He serves basic dishes, each with a unique flare, such as Gooey Blue Cheese & Red Onion Quesadillas, Five-Minute Stir-Fry Noodles and Buffalo Chicken Pizza.

Zien released a cookbook, “Just a Bunch of Recipes,” which came out last year and garnered immediate success from fans and cooks alike. The book is littered with humorous blurbs about his opinions on food and cooking, which include not feeding human food to dogs and having a mandatory rule when cooking with one’s grandparents. Unsurprisingly, the book even contains fun recipes for a Grilled PB and Jelly Sandwich and (Fake) Crème Brûlée.

When starting out as a cook, Zien struggled to get recognized and was criticized for his approach to cooking, inexperience and inadequate kitchen. However, after sending his tape to two local TV stations, his cooking segments were well received, which allowed Zien to do two-minute segments twice a week for a year, for free. Additionally, Zien’s transition to a full-time TV personality required him to quit his job at a biotech company to pursue his career.

“They paid me well,” Zien said. “But I was miserable and I don’t want to sound corny, but on your last day on the planet, what are you going to remember? You’re not going to remember the money part, and anybody who says that, it’s a bunch a BS. You got to be happy. They say if you like it, you’ll be good at it, and it’s true.”

Despite his success, when asked if the Food Network would have his show on its channel, Zien was not met with open arms because of his untraditional approach to cooking.

“I think it’s my style, I’m not trained,” Zien said. “I mean, I drop stuff on the ground; I pick it up and use it, but what the reality is what people take away from my message is, that they can cook. And whatever you end up doing is fine and that’s what it should be. People shouldn’t be wrapped up. I’d rather people cook and make anything than make it my way.”

Additionally, Zien discourages college students from dining out as it often becomes a bad habit in the future.

“Quit going out; it’s just too damn expensive,” he said. “Even that three or four dollar burger that you’re going to get today, add that up a couple times a day and you’re spending a lot of money. And you eat better, healthier and I’m not advocating eating only healthy food, but if you buy a burger or make a burger, the one that you make is going to be a hundred times healthier.”

Zien’s next cookbook will be released in April of next year, which is dedicated to people who accomplished something when everyone else said they couldn’t. His current book is available in most retail bookstores.

“Don’t let people tell you can’t do something,” Zien said. “Nobody likes people who want to put themselves out there and try do something different, everyone always says “you can’t do that.'”

Zien-recommended recipe to college students from “Just a Bunch of Recipes”: Buffalo Chicken Pizza – It’s like eating buffalo wings, but on a pizza.

4 tablespoons ( 1/2 stick) butter
4 tablespoon hot sauces 8212; not like Tabasco but more a Louisiana-style, i.e. Frank’s
2 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken (From a precooked deli chicken)
1/2 cup blue cheese salad dressing
One 12-inch ready-made pizza crust, such as Boboli
1 cup shredded mozzarella
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. In a small pot, melt the butter with the hot sauce, stir well and remove from the heat. Add the chicken and mix well. Spread the blue cheese dressing on the pizza crust, then top with the chicken mixture. (Don’t worry if it’s messy because it will be.) Top with mozzarella. Bake until bubbly, brown and awesome-looking, 12-15 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro, cut into wedges and serve.