Abstract Doron Wong grew up in Boston, Massachusetts in a Cantonese family. His parents emphasized the importance of understanding one’s heritage. Wong’s interest in cooking started when he took a job as a teenager at a local pizza restaurant. He later went to culinary school and studied with David Burke in New York. Moving forward, Wong worked around the world including cities such as Boston, Hong Kong, and Singapore. He was strongly influenced by CiCi Li, whom he met in Singapore. Wong thinks that...

Abstract George Chew was born in 1950 and grew up in New York’s Chinatown. His family immigrated from Hainan, a province in Southern China. His father was not home often for work. He enjoyed his father’s cooking, and eventually learned to cook on his own. His skillset grew while he moved to Washington to study law. Now an immigration judge, Chew continues to cook and hold banquets. Of these gatherings, he cooks both western and Chinese food. Chew gets his influence from cook books and learns to adapt...

Abstract In this interview of Gilroy and Sally Chow (interviewed separately), the couple talk about their relationship with food throughout their live. As second or third generation immigrants of an ethnic Chinese background who grew up in the American South, their interview reveals the way that Chinese food is passed down through generations as a powerful component of culture and the way it morphs over time to become apart of the multifaceted lives of immigrant families. Gilroy and Sally express...

Abstract Mr. Guo-Gan Yan is an immigrant who arrived in the United States from Guangdong, China in the 1990s in search of better educational opportunities for his daughter. Yan describes his life and career in Guangdong before immigrating. He details aspects of life in China related to recreation and work habits and compares it to his life in the United States. Yan also describes the effects of the 9/11 Terrorist attacks on his job as a restaurant worker in Chinatown, and the assistance he received...

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Ho Chin and Ellen Yang describe their family histories and immigration to the U.S., settling in in the U.S., and trying American food for the first time. Ho Chin discusses the transition from teaching to owning a restDurant, and learning the management aspects of the business. He discusses his successful career and supporting his children, his legacy, and how popular tastes in Chinese cuisine have changed over time.

Abstract Jason Wang was born in Xi’an, China, and moved to the U.S. when he was eight years old. His father worked at restaurants throughout his time in high school. In 2005, his family started a bubble tea business in Flushing, Queens. Wang went to college and after his first year his father decided to change the shop to sell street food. Xi’an Famous Foods was created. The restaurant focused on street food from Xi’an, China, with recipes honed by Wang’s family. After four years of studying finance,...

Abstract Jeff Gao was born in 1976 in Shandong, China. He grew up during the end of the cultural revolution and thus did not have an abundant amount of food to eat or experience. He was fond of hand pulled noodles and eventually followed a chef for two weeks to learn the dish. He learned the importance of broth. This inspired him to study in Beijing, where he had the opportunity to try food from all over the world. His perspective on food changed from its survival purposes to its role as a social...

Abstract Jonathan Wu discusses growing up in the Bronx and Hartford, CT., and then his education at FCI which lead to his career as a restauranteur. Jonathan Wu has working in restaurants in Brittany, Madrid, and Venice, as well as in New York City. He has learned a variety of techniques over his career and has benefitted greatly from supportive bosses and exposure to different cultures and cooking techniques and prattices. Wu is now the founder of Fung Tu, a Chinese restaurant with a modern vision...

Abstract 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,...

Abstract Kimmie Lee Tie discusses her early life in China and how World War II impacted her family and interestingly her diet. She talks about the experiences she had cooking on her family’s small farm and how after the war she married a Chinese American sailor and moved to the United States. Living in the US, Kimmie and her husband bought a Cantonese restaurant in 1957 which they operated for twenty years. In this environment, she taught herself how to cook with a wok and developed her Chinese...