Paul Qui
American chef (born 1980)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Paul Qui (born August 14, 1980) is a Texas-based Top Chef winner and James Beard award recipient. He operates restaurants East Side King (Austin), Thai Kun (Austin) and Pao (Miami).
Paul Qui | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 14, 1980 Maria ConsueloPhilippines |
| Education | Le Cordon Bleu (Austin, TX) |
| Occupation | Chef |
| Known for | Winner of Top Chef: Texas |
In 2011, he won the ninth season of reality television cooking competition Top Chef. Qui is also a winner of the James Beard Award.[1][2]
Biography
Paul Qui was born in the Philippines and moved to the United States as a child.[3] He attended high school in Springfield, Virginia[4] and completed his culinary training at Le Cordon Bleu in Austin, Texas.[5] His initial forays into cooking professionally led to a job with Tyson Cole, chef/owner of Uchi and Uchiko restaurants in Austin.[6] During his time in the kitchen, Cole became Qui's mentor,[6] and Qui eventually worked his way up to become the chef de cuisine and executive chef at Uchiko.[7]
Qui was one of 29 contestants who appeared on Top Chef Season 9 in 2011, which was filmed in locations around Texas.[8] He won eight of the season's 16 elimination challenges and went on to win the entire season.[9][8] Tom Colicchio, the head judge of Top Chef, said that Qui was the most talented chef in the first 12 seasons of the show.[10][8]
Following his win, he returned to Austin and opened his flagship restaurant, Qui, and a venture called East Side King, which showcases various Japanese-inspired dishes via food trucks with business partner Moto Utsunomiya.[11] Another of Qui's restaurants, Thai Kun, was recognized by Bon Appétit magazine as one of the best restaurants in America in 2014.[12] In 2016, Qui opened Pao by Paul Qui at Faena Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida.[13] That same year he was charged with assaulting his then-girlfriend with her minor child present while intoxicated and announced he was entering treatment;[14][15] the charges were dropped in 2018 after his former girlfriend stopped cooperating with the investigation.[16]
In 2018, his new Houston restaurant Aqui received a rare four-star review from the Houston Chronicle, but closed at the end of the year amidst controversy over the domestic violence charges.[17]
In March 2019, Qui announced the opening of a second location of East Side King in Denver, Colorado, inside the food hall Avanti Food & Beverage,[18] however, a day later, it was announced that Avanti backed out of the deal.[19][20][21] During this period, Qui expanded his restaurant portfolio by opening an additional East Side King location at POST Houston, a large-scale food hall development in downtown Houston. Around the same time, he launched two new dining concepts in Austin: Oko and Top Roe. While Top Roe later closed, Oko has remained in operation and continues to serve guests.[22] Following the closure of East Side King locations in both Houston and Austin, Qui repurposed the former Austin space and, in December 2025, opened Kitsu Nori [23], a Japanese hand roll bar concept offering sushi, crudo, and highball cocktails. The restaurant occupies the same building and represents a new standalone dining experience.
Awards and accolades
In addition to his win on Top Chef, Paul Qui also has earned the following awards: