Written by Dr. Chiu Chang, Herstory: The Legal History of Chinese American Women and Herstory 2: The Legal History of Chinese American Women, published in 2016 and 2020 respectively, record 35 Chinese landmark events from 1852 to 2012, 17 important Chinese legal cases in the United States from 1912 to 2020, and 10 female Chinese figures from 2000 to 2018. They have shown clearly the improvement of Chinese women’s social status in the United States over the years. The following piece is selected from another book of hers Cecilia Chiang: Godmother of Chinese American Cuisine. It tells how Cecilia Chiang changed the Chinese food in the United States.

In 2016, Paul Freedman, a history professor at Yale University, published Ten Restaurants that Changed America, in which he dedicated over 40 pages to Cecilia Chiang and her restaurant the Mandarin. Since then, Cecilia Chiang officially entered American history and was recognized in the American society as the godmother of Chinese food. Many major media channels and news outlets in the United States, including CNN, CBS, NBC, San Francisco Chronicles, reported her passing away on October 28, 2020.

In 2017, through Doris Tseng, a librarian at the San Francisco Public Library, I interviewed Cecilia Chiang and wrote the book Cecilia Chiang: Godmother of Chinese American Cuisine, the only written record of her oral history in Chinese.

Cecilia Chiang in Her Own Words

In 2016, Paul Freedman, a history professor at Yale University, published Ten Restaurants that Changed America, in which he dedicated over 40 pages to Cecilia Chiang and her restaurant the Mandarin. Since then, Cecilia Chiang officially entered American history and was recognized in the American society as the godmother of Chinese food. Many major media channels and news outlets in the United States, including CNN, CBS, NBC, San Francisco Chronicles, reported her passing away on October 28, 2020.

In 2017, through Doris Tseng, a librarian at the San Francisco Public Library, I interviewed Cecilia Chiang and wrote the book Cecilia Chiang: Godmother of Chinese American Cuisine, the only written record of her oral history in Chinese.

Cecilia Chiang in Her Own Words

I was born in Shanghai in 1920, the seventh among twelve brothers and sisters. Later our family moved to Beijing. My father hired chefs from both Shanghai and Beijing so that the family could get used to both southern and northern flavors.

Living in a well-to-do family, I did not go to a cooking school or have any cooking experience even after my graduation and I had my own family and children. So when I went to America to run my own restaurant, what I could do was to recall the dishes I have eaten in my childhood and try to cook them by myself.

I have often been asked: why can’t other Chinese restaurants be as good as mine, whether in terms of taste, service or even tableware? I think the most important reason is that from the very beginning, I did not open it for money. I have had a strong desire to introduce the authentic Chinese cuisines to foreigners. Another reason is that I love food and enjoy tasting delicacies from all over the world. My tongue is very sensitive, which helps me to understand and feel the subtle change of taste. This is a rare talent.

In 1963, Herb Caen, a columnist at the San Francisco Chronicle, came to our restaurant at the recommendation of his friends. He praised the Mandarin for “serving the best Chinese dishes in the east of the Pacific”. Thanks to his report and the quality of our food and services, the Mandarin became the most popular Chinese restaurant in the US.

In 1972, Nixon visited China. When the Americans saw on TV the president and his secretary of state Henry Kissinger skillfully used chopsticks at a state banquet in Beijing and drank Maotai with the Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, everything seemed so incredible. But very soon, they picked up the chopsticks too and haven’t put them down since then. All the Chinese restaurants including the Mandarin were crowded with guests. The number of Chinese restaurants increased from six in 1885 to over 40,000 in 2019, even more than McDonald’s and KFC combined. This success owed a lot to the hard work of every Chinese in the catering industry. There is no denying that Chinese food has become one part of America. Different races may interpret the other’s cultures differently, but there is no denying the fact that they all love Chinese food.

The Mandarin reached its high point in the 1980s, when we had four restaurants at the same time, one in San Francisco and three in LA. Years later, after our general manager and accountant passed away, I decided to sell the restaurant. The buyers continued to run the Mandarin until 2006, when they shut it for good, ending its 50 glorious years of history.

My son also opened a very successful Chinese restaurant chain, called P.F. Chang’s. His restaurant is more modern and economic, serving only a dozen of dishes. It proved to be a good choice and the number of the franchisees has surpassed 400 in these years. In 2019 he sold the chain for $700 million, although he still helped with the business from time to time.

Looking back on my experience, I found that the secret of my success lies in the way I treated people. I was considerate to everyone and could always remember my employees’ names – even a dishwasher’s, and where I met them, which made them feel valued and respected. I also remembered an interesting story. In the 1970s, the rock band Jefferson Airplane ordered a Dom Perignon while dining in our restaurant. The waiter was afraid that they couldn’t afford it and asked for my advice. I opened the bottle for them without any hesitation. Since then, they had become regular customers to the restaurant. Jack Casady and Jorma Kaukonen said it was my respect shown to the customers that had called them back again and again.

At this stage of my life, I’m trying to explore my own ways of staying healthy. If you want to live a longer life, you should not only eat healthy food but also keep doing exercises. I take thirty minutes’ walk every day after I get up around eight in the morning. I cook very simple food at home and I’m especially good at cooking soup, such as beef or chicken soup. Alice Waters, godmother of the slow food movement, was once asked what she would like for her last meal if tomorrow was the end of the world. Her reply? Shark fin soup made by Cecilia Chiang.

Epilogue

 “She received the James Beard Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013, a belated mark of her influence and accomplishments. It seemed long overdue, because already by the 1970s, it was obvious that Cecilia Chiang and the Mandarin had significantly transformed American appreciation of Chinese food,” wrote Paul Freedman in his book. Living in San Francisco for more than half a century, Cecilia Chiang herself became one of the most iconic attractions in the city. After retirement, she was accompanied by her granddaughter every day to enjoy delicious food at Michelin-star restaurants in the bay area. She was a model of Chinese women’s entrepreneurship. In all of her “signature dishes”, elegance, dignity and consideration for others are the most unforgettable tastes.