Grace Young
Grace Young at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in 2022
AwardsJulia Child Award, James Beard Foundation Award

Grace Young is an American cookbook author, activist, and food historian specializing in Chinese cuisine and wok cookery. She received the Julia Child Award from The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts and James Beard Humanitarian of the Year award from the James Beard Foundation, both in 2022, for her culinary achievements.[1][2][3][4]

Young has authored cookbooks focused on American Chinese cuisine with her books The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen and The Breath of a Wok being influential in highlighting the use of the Chinese wok to a new generation of cooks.[5][6] Both books have won the Best International Cookbook Award from the International Association of Culinary Professionals.[7]

Early life and career

Young grew up in San Francisco, California. She credits Julia Child as one of her inspirations saying, "I wanted to do for Chinese cooking what Julia Child had done for French cooking."[8]

After college, she worked for Time Life Books as their test kitchen director and director of food photography for more than 40 cookbooks.[7]

Activism

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Young advocated for the preservation of historic Chinatowns throughout the United States as well as bringing awareness to violence against Asian Americans.[9] In 2020, when New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio was considering a city-wide lockdown, she worked with filmmaker Dan Ahn documenting the effect on Chinatown in New York City's Manhattan in a project called "Coronavirus: Chinatown Stories."[8]

In 2021, she launched the Grace Young Support Chinatown Fund with the New York non-profit Welcome to Chinatown, raising $40,000. The funds went to established Chinatown restaurants Hop Lee, Hop Kee, Wo Hop Upstairs, and Wo Hop Downstairs to provide meals for those suffering from food insecurity.[8] She said she is donating the $50,000 Julia Child Award prize to non-profit organizations that support Chinatowns across the United States.[8]

Publications

  • The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen: Classic Family Recipes for Celebration and Healing, Simon and Schuster (ISBN 9780684847399, 1999)
  • The Breath of a Wok, Simon Schuster (ISBN 9780743238274, 2004)
  • Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge: The Ultimate Guide to Mastery, with Authentic Recipes and Stories (ISBN 9781416580577, 2010)

References

  1. ↑ Glusker, Anne. "Culinary Expert Grace Young Is Documenting the Toll of the Pandemic and Anti-Asian Hate on NYC's Chinatown". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2022-05-11.
  2. ↑ "Grace Young Named 2022 Julia Child Award Recipient by the Julia Child Foundation". The Julia Child Award. Retrieved 2022-05-11.
  3. ↑ "The 2022 Lifetime Achievement Winner and Humanitarian of the Year Award". www.jamesbeard.org. James Beard Foundation. Retrieved 2022-05-11.
  4. ↑ Fabricant, Florence (2022-05-16). "Grace Young Is the Recipient of the Annual Julia Child Award". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
  5. ↑ Hallinan, Bridget (June 19, 2019). "Grace Young Demystifies Cooking with Woks in New 'Wok Therapist' Video". Food & Wine. Retrieved 2022-05-11.
  6. ↑ Wei, Clarissa (April 4, 2022). "Grace Young And Her Ever-Growing Wok Collection". Serious Eats. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
  7. 1 2 Heil, Emily (June 22, 2022). "Grace Young is 'not going to shut up' about saving Chinatowns". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Wong, Maggie Hiufu (July 14, 2022). "Meet Grace Young, the wok guru fighting to save America's Chinatowns". CNN. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
  9. ↑ "Chinatowns are struggling to survive. Grace Young is reminding Americans why they matter". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-05-11.
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