Zien's career in television began after quitting his job as an executive for a San Diego pharmaceutical company. In 2001, after a poorly timed effort to begin a career in travel television— that was unfortunately derailed by the September 11 attacks—he switched his focus to a cooking show. He produced his own test screening and distributed the tape to local San Diego television stations. San Diego's Fox affiliate XETV-TDT offered him a 2-3 minute slot during its morning news program. The job was unpaid—a situation that changed after his work earned a Regional Emmy from the National Television Academy's Pacific Southwest Chapter. In January 2005, Zien moved to County Television Network, San Diego County's public-access television, after CTN offered him a half-hour time slot on their station. His Sam the Cooking Guy show spread to other cities through agreements with sister cable companies; his work was recognized with more Regional Emmys and a book deal from John Wiley and Sons. Zien's next break came from the Discovery Health Channel, where Zien signed a deal to shoot the first season of a series called Just Grill This! The network was subsequently purchased by the Oprah Winfrey Network and not renewed for a second season In 2008, Zien appeared on NBC's The Today Show in a segment with Kathy Lee Gifford and Hota Kotb. After being interrupted repeatedly during the first half of the segment, Zien suddenly spoke emphatically - "Please, can I talk? I watch the show every day, everybody has issues with a lot of chatter back here. Pay attention, one minute." A clip of the segment appeared on YouTube following its airing and in days had surpassed 2,000,000 views, with most commenters applauding Sam for his firm stance in the face of the NBC hosts.
Youtube Channel
On May 23, 2011, Zien premiered The Sam Livecast, an Internet cooking show originating from his home kitchen. Its thrice weekly episodes feature food-related and other subject matter, After 200 live episodes, the production switched to a live-to-tape format. Since moving away from the live streamed format, The Sam Livecast has transitioned into a YouTube channel under a different name - Sam the Cooking Guy - and experienced a surge in subscribers and views, reaching one million subscribers by early August 2019.
Restaurant
In July 2018, Zien opened his first restaurant - Not Not Tacos - a casual dining establishment featuring Zien's unique take on non-traditional tacos. Located within the Little ItalyFood Hall in the Little Italy area of Downtown San Diego, Zien serves tacos such as Korean Short Rib, Pulled Pork with Macaroni and Cheese, Seared Salmon and Meatloaf. In March 2020, Zien opened a second restaurant in the Little Italy Food Hall, called Graze by Sam.
Cookbooks
Zien has written three cookbooks, all published by John Wiley & Sons:
