Grace Young
Grace Young is an award-winning cookbook author, culinary historian, and Chinatown activist. Her video series, “Coronavirus: Chinatown Stories,” produced in collaboration with videographer Dan Ahn and Poster House museum documents the toll of the pandemic on New York City’s Chinese mom-and-pop businesses.
In 2022, Grace received the James Beard Foundation’s Humanitarian of the Year Award. She is also the recipient of the Julia Child Foundation’s Julia Child Award for her work to save America’s Chinatowns amid anti-Asian hate during the pandemic. Dubbed the “accidental voice for Chinatown” by Grub Street, she has been advocating for Chinatowns and AAPI small businesses across the country, and her efforts have been chronicled in the media including the PBS Newshour, The Washington Post, All Things Considered, BBC radio, Today.com, CNN, Smithsonian magazine, and The Splendid Table.
In 2020 Grace partnered with the James Beard Foundation on an Instagram campaign to #SaveChineseRestaurants and she is currently launching the #SaveChinatowns social media campaign with the foundation.
Grace is a three-time James Beard Foundation Award winner and a six-time IACP Award winner, including the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award. She received the James Beard Foundation’s Digital Media Award for her video comedy, “Wok Therapist,” and a James Beard Award for her cookbook Stir-Frying to the Sky’s Edge. Her IACP awards include the 2019 Culinary Classics Award for The Breath of a Wok, which also won the Jane Grigson Award for distinguished scholarship. Her first cookbook, The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen, won the IACP Best International Cookbook Award. Named the “poet laureate of the wok” by food historian Betty Fussell, Grace has devoted her career to demystifying the ancient cooking utensil for use in contemporary kitchens. Grace has devoted much of her career to preserving the traditional iron wok. With the growing popularity of nonstick cookware, the wok is an endangered culinary tool. Serious Eats recently featured Grace in a special profile of her wok collection.
Related Event
Join Grace Young, the James Beard Humanitarian of the Year and Julia Child Award recipient honored for her work to preserve America’s Chinatowns, for an intimate two-hour tasting tour through one of NYC’s most historic neighborhoods. Known as the “Stir-Fry Guru” and “accidental voice of Chinatown,” Grace will guide you to hidden gems, beloved legacy eateries, and share stories that bring the neighborhood’s rich culinary and cultural history to life. Limited spots available. A delicious tribute to tradition, community, and to Jacques Pépin, one of the world’s most beloved chefs.