Peter Chang (chef) facts for kids

Peter Chang (simplified Chinese: 张鹏亮; traditional Chinese: 張鵬亮) is a famous Chinese chef. He is known for his amazing Sichuan cuisine dishes. His restaurants are popular in Virginia and other states in the southeastern USA.

Chef Peter Chang's Early Life

Peter Chang was born in 1963 in a farming village in Hubei Province, China. He went to cooking school in Wuhan. After school, he worked on a cruise ship on the Yangtze river. This is where he met his wife, Lisa.

Chang worked in fancy hotels and won many cooking contests in China. Because of his skills, he was asked to work as a chef at the Embassy of China in Washington, D.C..

Moving to America

In 2001, Peter Chang and his family came to the United States. While working at the Chinese Embassy, he even cooked for China's Vice President, Hu Jintao. In 2003, just before they were supposed to go back to China, the Chang family decided to stay in the United States.

Peter Chang's Journey as a Chef

After leaving the Chinese Embassy, Chang started working at a Chinese restaurant called China Star in Fairfax, Virginia. To keep a low profile, he used a different name, "Mr. Liu." The restaurant had typical American Chinese food. But it also had a special Chinese menu with more complex Sichuan cuisine.

The "Restless Chef"

Food lovers on a website called DonRockwell.com discovered Chang. A food critic named Todd Kliman also wrote about him. As more people learned about his amazing cooking, Chang moved to different restaurants. He worked at TemptAsian in Alexandria, Virginia, then Szechuan Boy in Fairfax. Each time a review came out, he would move to a new place.

• In September 2006, people found him at Tasty China in Marietta, Georgia.
• By 2007, he had moved again.
• In June 2008, he was found at Hong Kong House in Knoxville, Tennessee.
• In 2009, Chang moved to Taste of China in Charlottesville, Virginia. This restaurant quickly became very popular.

"Where's Chang?"

In March 2010, The New Yorker magazine published an article titled "Where's Chang?". It talked about his many moves and how food critics followed him. The article made Peter Chang famous across the country. Soon after, he left Taste of China because of disagreements with the owner.

Later in 2010, Chang opened Peter Chang's Tasty China II in Sandy Springs, near Atlanta.

Building a Restaurant Empire

In March 2011, Peter Chang opened Peter Chang's China Grill in Charlottesville. He partnered with Gen Lee, another Chinese chef. This was a big step for Chang. He and his wife were able to get permission to work legally in the U.S. This meant he no longer had to move around so much.

Growing His Restaurants

Since 2011, Peter Chang and Gen Lee have opened many successful restaurants:

• In early 2012, they opened Peter Chang China Café in Short Pump, near Richmond, Virginia. This restaurant was named one of the "50 Best New Restaurants in America" by Bon Appétit magazine.
• In September 2012, Peter Chang Cafe opened in Williamsburg, Virginia.
• In May 2013, Peter Chang's China Cafe opened in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
• In March 2015, a restaurant with his name opened in Arlington, Virginia.
• In April 2015, another Peter Chang's China Bistro opened in Rockville, Maryland.
• In June 2016, a new Peter Chang restaurant opened in Scott's Addition Historic District in Richmond.

These restaurants are now known as "Peter Chang [location]". They have locations in Virginia (Arlington, Charlottesville, Fredericksburg, Short Pump, Virginia Beach, Williamsburg) and Maryland (Rockville).

New and Exciting Places

Peter Chang continues to open new and unique restaurants:

• In May 2017, he opened Q by Peter Chang in Bethesda, Maryland.
• In March 2018, he opened a restaurant in the Stamford Town Center Mall in Stamford, Connecticut. This was his first restaurant in the northeastern U.S.
• In March 2019, he opened Mama Chang in Fairfax, Virginia. This special restaurant features recipes from his wife and his mother. It was very popular, with 1,000 diners on its opening weekend! Washington Post critic Tom Sietsema even ranked Mama Chang as the #1 new restaurant in the Washington area that year.
• In July 2020, Peter and Lisa Chang opened NiHao in Baltimore, Maryland.
• In October 2022, Chang Chang opened in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C.. This was his first restaurant in the nation's capital.

Awards and Media Spotlight

Peter Chang has received many honors for his cooking:

• In 2016, he was a finalist for a James Beard Award for Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic. This is a very important award in the food world.
• He has cooked several times at the James Beard House in New York City. This is a special place where famous chefs show off their skills.

On Television

• In November 2013, his China Cafe in Richmond was shown on Andrew Zimmern's show Bizarre Foods America on the Travel Channel.
• In July 2016, Peter Chang in Rockville was featured on the Food Network's Top 5 Restaurants.

Recognized by Experts

In December 2019, The Economist magazine wrote about Chinese-American food. It mentioned Peter Chang, saying people were "obsessed over a mystery: Where was Peter Chang?" It described one of his soups as "hauntingly perfect."

In October 2023, Peter Chang's restaurant Chang Chang was added to the Michelin Guide for DC. The guide praised its "sleek, minimalist aesthetic" and "elevated takes on classic Chinese dishes."