Eileen Yin-Fei Lo

Eileen Yin-Fei Lo, educator, chef and author of eleven cookbooks on Chinese cuisine, was born in Sun Tak, a suburb of Canton, China. She began to cook at the age of five, encouraged by here parents-a mother who believed that “children should know how to everything,” and a father who had traveled widely and was familiar with foreign cuisines. These early influences included a grandmother who instilled in her the techniques and culture of cooking while she was still a child.

In 1950, Ms. Lo, not yet a teenager, fled the Chinese Revolution to live with relatives in Hong Kong. While there she learned English and further enhanced her knowledge of cooking by researching cuisines from all of the regions of China and taking lessons from an aunt who was herself a highly accomplished cook. Hong Kong was, and is, an ideal place in which to learn about all foods, particularly Chinese. It is a cosmopolitan city and home to some of the world’s great restaurants and chefs.

In 1959, Ms. Lo married and moved to the United States. Increasingly, she was urged by friends to teach Chinese cookery which she began to do in the early 1970’s. For many years she taught in her home, from beginners to master classes. In 1976 she was invited to join the cooking and nutrition staff of the China Institute in New York City and taught there for more than twenty years. She has also taught Chinese Cookery at The New School University in New York City.

Published Cookbooks

In addition to Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking, Ms. Lo is the author of nine other books on Chinese food:

* The Dim Sum Book: Classic Recipes from the Chinese Teahouse
* The Chinese Banquet Cookbook
* Eileen Yin-Fei Lo’s New Cantonese Cooking
* From the Earth: Chinese Vegetarian Cooking
* The Dim Sum Dumpling Book
* The Chinese Way: Healthy Low-Fat Cooking from China’s Regions
* The Chinese Kitchen
* The Chinese Chicken Cookbook
* My Grandmother’s Chinese Kitchen

And has co-authored:

* China’s Food (A photographic study and survey of great Chinese regional cooking)

For her writing’s she has been described as:

The “Cantonese Julia Child” and the “Chinese Marcella Hazan” (New York Times)The “Chinese Alice Waters” (Food authority George Land)The “Diva of Dim Sum” (Food Arts Magazine)

AwardsThe Dim Sum Book was nominated for an International Association of Culinary Professional (IACP) Julia Child Award The Chinese Banquet Book Cookbook was an IACP Awards winnerFrom the Earth: Chinese Vegetarian Cooking was nominated for The James Beard Award and the IACP Award

HonorsLifetime Achievement Award - New World Festival of Food and Wine (Singapore, China 1998)Lifetime Achievement Award - La Celebration Culinaire Internationale (Washington D.C.)Silver Spoon Award - Food Arts Magazine (New York 2007)James Beard House – Prepared multi-course Chinese dinner at selected functions which included participating as a guest chef at the Beard House 10th Anniversary Reception honoring Julia Child.

OrganizationsMember, Les Dames d’Escoffier (New York)Consultant Chef, China Institute (New York)Asian Authority recognition, Food Arts (New York)

Newspaper and Magazine ArticlesMs. Lo has written on both food and restaurants for:▪ The New York Times▪ The New York Times Magazine▪ Gourmet Magazine▪ Food & Wine▪ Travel & Leisure ▪ Food Arts (Master Class article contributor)

Media Appearances, Cooking DemonstrationsMartha Stewart Living (syndicated)The Early Show (CBS)Good Morning America (ABC)Today in New York (NBC)Fox and Family (FOX)Food NetworkVarious regional U.S. programs from coast to coast.International programming in Singapore, England, Italy, Finland, Canada and New Zealand.

Visiting Guest Celebrity ChefThe Book & The Cook (Philadelphia)The Scottsdale Culinary Festival (Arizona)The Seabourn Cruise LineThe Cooking Festival at the Cipriani Hotel in Venice.Both the Mandarin Oriental and Checkers Hotels (California)The Sands Hotel (Atlantic City)Four Seasons Hotel (Toronto)Ritz-Carlton (Chicago)Boca Raton Country Club (Florida)

Ms. Lo has consulted with various Four Seasons Hotels and with many restaurants including Shun Lee and Ruby Foo's in New York and Clio in Boston.

Ms. Lo is married to journalist and author Fred Ferretti and reside in New Jersey. They have three children, Christopher, Elena and Stephen and a granddaughter Elliott Antonia.