Test your design IQ
MANILA, Philippines - Who is the American Chinese chef and restaurateur whose name means “famous dish” in Chinese?
He was born on March 29, 1964 in Newport Beach, California to a rather prominent Chinese American family. His maternal grandfather is renowned Chinese conductor Dr. Baochen Li, while his paternal grandfather graduated from the Department of Economics of Beijing University. His father is a Professor Research Emeritus of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University.
Raised in Dayton, Ohio, he often helped his parents, Steve and Iris, with their family restaurant, Mandarin Kitchen. While he graduated with a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, he later followed his heart by graduating with a master’s degree in Hotel Administration and Hospitality Marketing at Cornell University.
In 1998, he and his wife, Polly, opened their first restaurant, Blue Ginger, in Wellesley, Massachusetts. The restaurant, which is known for its fusion cuisine, reflects his multicultural upbringing, and lives up to his name, which means “famous dish” in Chinese.
He has hosted East Meets West on the Food Network, for which he won an Emmy Award, and has appeared as a challenger chef on Iron Chef America, beating Iron Chef Bobby Flay in Battle Duck.
He currently hosts two cooking shows named after him — Quest on the Fine Living Channel, and Simply on the Food Network. On the latter show, he uses ceramic cooking knives manufactured by Kyocera or Global Knives.
He is the author of three cookbooks: Blue Ginger, Simply, and Master Recipes.
Culinary skills aside, he is known as a formidable squash player, known for his speed, conditioning, and tenacity. In 2000, he was number 16 on People magazine’s Most Beautiful People list.
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Last week’s question: Who is the renowned American architect and dean of the Yale University School of Architecture who is identified with the Post-Modern style and has been involved with his many projects for Walt Disney World?
Answer: Robert Stern
Winner: Criselda Santos of Project 8, QC
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