Ken Hom’s parents immigrated from Southern China. His father served in World War II, and brought his mother to the States through the War Brides Act of 1945. His parents decided to start a life outside of California because of the hate attributed to being Chinese. Thus, Hom grew up in Tucson, Arizona. However, after eight months, his father passed away and his mother decided to move to Chicago to be closer to family and friends. Hom and his mother lived in Chicago’s Chinatown. At age eleven, Hom found himself working for a close family friend at a Chinese restaurant called King Wah. His passion for food started there. He washed the fresh seafood and occasionally helped in the kitchen. At age twenty, Hom moved to California and started to learn how to cook for himself. He traveled to France and learned techniques from his host family who were Italian. After coming back to the United States, Hom landed a gig to cook for the wife of a House of Representative. He eventually got enough experience and money to open his own culinary school in 1975. He was later recruited to teach at the California Culinary Academy. He emphasized the importance of techniques and later wrote books about different Chinese cooking styles. These books are called, East Meets West and Taste of China. Hom’s biggest culinary influence is his Uncle Paul, who he worked for in Chicago. He enjoys cooking Peking duck, and his favorite comfort food is minced pork with salted fish. He believes the most memorable dishes are made at home. To Hom, cooking has always been about sharing cultures. This was essential, as he grew up in a time were Chinese Americans were seen as caricatures.