Joyce Chen (September 14, 1917 - August 23, 1994) was a Chinese chef, restauranteur, and entrepreneur. Born in Beijing, China, Chen and husband Thomas left Shanghai, China in 1949 as Communists were taking over the country. Chen settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Chen opened her first restaurant, "Joyce Chen Restaurant," in 1958. In 1960 she began teaching Chinese cooking at the Cambridge and Boston Adult Education Centers, introducing many Americans to homestyle and gourmet Chinese cooking techniques. In 1962, she published her influential cookbook, Joyce Chen Cook Book. In 1968, she starred in her own cooking show on PBS called "Joyce Chen Cooks." Chen later introduced a line of Chinese cooking utensils. Chen is credited with popularizing the Mandarin style of Chinese cooking in the United States. Chen wanted to make Chinese food accessible to the American public. Since her first restaurant was in an Italian area, she renamed potstickers, or pork-filled Chinese dumplings to Peking Ravioli on her menus. Chinese restaurants and diners in the greater Boston, Massachusetts area still call the dumplings "Peking Ravioli" or simply "ravs." Chen died of Alzheimer's disease in 1994. Her namesake restaurant closed in 1998. Chen's daughter Helen Chen is CEO of cookware company Joyce Chen, Inc. Son Henry owns Joyce Chen Unlimited, a retail store in Acton, Massachusetts. Son Stephen Chen is president of Joyce Chen Foods, Inc.
References
- http://www.foodreference.com/html/ap-pr-1011.html FoodReference.com
- http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0880716.html InfoPlease.com
- http://www.joycechenfoods.com/ Joyce Chen Foods, Inc.
- http://boston.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2006/05/01/story7.html
- Joyce Chen Cook Book, Joyce Chen Gourmet Products, Cambridge, MA, 1962, 1982.
- http://chinesefood.about.com/library/bltrivia30.htm About.com
