The Arrival Of Chinese Cuisine To The US Through The Hands Of Cecilia Chiang

Cecilia Chiang (Source: foundsf.org)

JAKARTA - Cecilia Chiang, a San Francisco chef who pioneered the trail of Chinese cooking in the United States, has just died at the age of one hundred. Cecilia's footsteps are so memorable.

It was almost a week since his death last Wednesday, October 28, when Cecilia died in her sleep. He died in the midst of a family that looked after him. Cecilia is the owner and chef of the "Mandarin" restaurant in San Francisco. Through this restaurant, Cecilia succeeded in changing the restaurant business game in the US.

Cecilia is known as the "Mother of Chinese Cuisine". He is believed to be the person who brought authentic Chinese food to the United States (US). He was also the first person to become a celebrity chef before the term was popularized.

"I will miss my graceful grandmother's warmth, her courage, her intelligence and passion, her constant curiosity, how informative she is, and her ability to enjoy life," said Siena Chiang, the late granddaughter.

"I will miss learning from his stories over the centuries, which were always entertaining and very thoughtful," he added to CNN. quoted Monday, November 2.

Cecilia is no ordinary person. He was born near Shanghai and comes to an upper-class Chinese family. Cecilia's husband is a diplomat in Japan. Even so, his journey in the US was not an easy matter. He was dealing with a completely different society. Culture that is so strong as to drown its "Asian culture."

He moved to the Bay Area, USA in 1959. At that time, he immediately opened his own "chance of life" by introducing delicious Chinese cuisine which he called different from other existing Chinese restaurant dishes. The move was difficult because Asian people - including US-born Chinese - in the US at that time didn't even know anything about authentic Chinese food.

His restaurant on Polk Street has finally succeeded in becoming the main reference for authentic Chinese cuisine. Not only for US-born Chinese or other Asian people, but also for US residents in general. However, of course that step is not easy. Cecilia went through a lot.

Educating the tongue of the US public

Cecilia's 50-seat restaurant was developed in 1961. Cecilia was determined to introduce delicious Chinese cuisine to diners. The restaurant membership list is an important part of his strategy.

He realized that in order to provide an extraordinary Chinese dining experience, he had to adjust the aesthetic. His Chinese restaurant then moved to a much larger venue at Ghirardelli Square. And the restaurant has succeeded in being a differentiator from other Chinese restaurants.

"Is this a Chinese restaurant?" Cecilia says people ask her all the time. Mandarin didn't serve chop suey or chow mein, two standard dishes in every Chinese restaurant in the US at the time.

Cecilia did so on purpose. When he came to the US, he found many of the dishes from Chinese restaurants were substandard, with depressing levels of menus. So, he decided differently. He was determined to show San Francisco what Chinese food really is. Cecilia doesn't just trade, but also educates her visitors.

Before he died, Cecilia had retired for 20 years. He left his cooking career as a legend. Cecilia got into a complicated culture with her authenticity. However, the determination and brilliance of her tongue and brain made her not only survive but also successful in becoming number one in business and her reputation as "The Mother of Chinese Cuisine". "There is no single restaurant that matches Mandarin," said Cecilia at one time.