Cecilia Chiang facts for kids

Cecilia Sun Yun Chiang (Chinese: 江孫芸; pinyin: Jiāng Sūnyún; September 18, 1920 – October 28, 2020) was a famous Chinese-American chef and restaurateur. She is best known for starting and running The Mandarin restaurant in San Francisco, California. Cecilia Chiang helped introduce real Northern Chinese food to America.

Early Life and Escape

Cecilia Chiang was born Sun Yun in Wuxi, China, in 1920. She was one of twelve children in a very wealthy family. Her father was a railway engineer, and her mother came from a family that owned large businesses.

When she was four, her family moved to Peking (now Beijing). She grew up in a huge 52-room mansion. Her Chinese name, Sun Yun, means "flower of the rue." Even though her family had two chefs, children were not allowed in the kitchen.

In 1942, during the Japanese occupation of China, she and her sister had to escape. They walked for almost six months to reach Chongqing. There, she worked as a Mandarin teacher for the American and Soviet embassies. She also helped the United States during the war.

She met Chiang Liang, a successful businessman, and they got married. They had two children, May and Philip. In 1949, during the Chinese Communist Revolution, Cecilia and her family had to flee China. They managed to get on the last flight out of Shanghai.

Starting Restaurants

After leaving China, Cecilia settled in Tokyo, Japan, with her family in 1949. She opened her first Chinese restaurant there, called Forbidden City. It became very popular with both locals and people from other countries.

In 1960, Cecilia visited her sister in San Francisco. While walking in San Francisco's Chinatown, she met some friends who wanted to open a restaurant. She helped them negotiate a lease for a small space. To secure the rent, she wrote a $10,000 deposit check.

Her friends later changed their minds, but the landlord would not return the money. So, Cecilia decided to open the restaurant herself. She named it The Mandarin.

The Mandarin Restaurant

At that time, most Americans only knew an Americanized version of Cantonese cuisine. Cecilia wanted to introduce them to authentic Northern Chinese dishes. She started with a huge menu of over 200 items.

She designed The Mandarin to look like the grand palace where she grew up. She hired a cooking couple from Shandong province. Cecilia herself washed dishes and bought ingredients from the market.

At first, the restaurant was not very successful. It was hard for her to communicate with Cantonese-speaking suppliers. She also faced challenges as a woman business owner. The restaurant did not have parking, and she couldn't get a license to serve cocktails.

However, things slowly changed. A journalist named C. Y. Lee became a regular customer and brought many friends. Then, Vic Bergeron, who founded Trader Vic's, visited with Herb Caen. Herb Caen wrote about The Mandarin in his newspaper column, making it famous overnight.

With the restaurant's success, Cecilia decided to stay in San Francisco. She separated from her husband and brought her children, May and Philip, to live with her. In 1968, she moved The Mandarin to a much larger location in Ghirardelli Square. This new restaurant could seat 300 people.

Cecilia was known for greeting important guests in the dining room. She often wore beautiful gowns and jewelry. She sold The Mandarin in 1991, and it closed in 2006.

Her Impact on American Food

Cecilia Chiang is often praised for bringing real Mandarin cuisine to San Francisco and the United States. The magazine Saveur said she introduced "regional Chinese cooking to America."

Many famous chefs and food experts learned from her. Chuck Williams, who started Williams Sonoma, loved her "beggar's chicken" dish. He introduced her to James Beard, a very important food writer, who became her friend.

Alice Waters, who opened the famous restaurant Chez Panisse, learned Chinese cooking from Cecilia. They became lifelong friends. Alice Waters said that Cecilia did for Chinese food in America what Julia Child did for French food. Cecilia even taught Julia Child!

Other chefs and food writers, like Jeremiah Tower, were also influenced by Cecilia.

Awards and Recognition

In 2013, Cecilia Chiang received a special James Beard Foundation Award for her lifetime achievements in food. This is one of the highest honors in the American food world.

In 2014, a documentary film called Soul of a Banquet was made about her life. It showed Cecilia preparing a special meal for her friend Alice Waters' restaurant anniversary.

Her restaurant, The Mandarin, was even included in a book called "Ten Restaurants that Changed America" (2016). In 2016, a cooking series called The Kitchen Wisdom of Cecilia Chiang was released on PBS.

Personal Life

Cecilia Chiang was married to Chiang Liang. They had two children, May and Philip. Her son, Philip, is a co-founder of the popular restaurant chain P.F. Chang's. Cecilia also had a granddaughter named Siena.

After selling her restaurant in 1991, Cecilia moved to Belvedere. In 2011, she moved back to San Francisco to be closer to her daughter May. Even after retiring, she continued to support charities, especially the Chinese American International School.

Cecilia Chiang passed away on October 28, 2020, in San Francisco. She was 100 years old.