👶🏻 Early Life: Joyce Chen was born on September 12, 1917, in Beijing, China. Growing up in a family that appreciated good food, she developed a passion for cooking from a young age. Chen's early years were marked by exposure to diverse regional Chinese cuisines, fostering her love for culinary exploration.

 

🍜 Trailblazer in Chinese Cuisine: After moving to America during the Chinese Communist Revolution, Chen opened her first restaurant, the “Joyce Chen Restaurant” in 1958. Chen made sure her emails were both in English and Chinese to ensure widespread accessibility to all cultures within her restaurant. Chen released her own cookbook in 1962 and started a second restaurant in 1972. That same year, Chen starred in her PBS cooking show Joyce Chen Cooks. Later in life, Chen patented her own pan and line of cooking utensils. 

 

👩‍👧‍👦 Later Life and Legacy: Joyce Chen passed away in 1994 after a battle with Alzheimer’s. Her legacy was honored with a feature on the US Stamp in 2014. A “Festival of Dumplings” is held every year in her hometown Cambridge, Massachusets on her birthday. To this day, Joyce Chen is still credited with introducing Chinese food to Americans.