2013 James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award: Cecilia Chiang

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Often referred to as the “Julia Child of Chinese food,” Chiang moved from Shanghai to San Francisco in 1960 at the age of 20, and brought with her a fiery passion for good food and good company. Hospitality has always been at the forefront of her efforts, as she explained in her acceptance speech: "You need to care about people and the heart of what I want to do is make my guests happy." Since her earliest days on our shores, Chiang has worked to introduce the American palate to Northern Chinese cuisine, and disprove the notion that authentic Chinese food means Orange Chicken in a take-out box.​


Community-focused and independent restaurants are at the heart of every city, town, and village across America and the world. The James Beard Foundation celebrates restaurants that showcase culinary leadership and provides training and resources for chefs and restaurateurs to use their voices for positive food system change.

Open for Good is the James Beard Foundation’s campaign to help independent restaurants survive this crisis, rebuild better, and thrive for the long term. Open for Good programs provide critical resources to help independent restaurants build the capacity to come back stronger, more equitable, more sustainable, and more resilient. Learn more at jamesbeard.org.



Produced for James Beard Foundation for the 2013 Gala Awards in
collaboration with Bowen and Company.

Executive Producer:  Katherine Linton
Producer: Genevieve Baker
Director of Photography: Vincent Venturella
Editor:  Jillian Buckley
Post-Production Supervisor: Jorge Garcia-Spitz
Production Assistant: Kelly Rey
Sound Mix: Ronen Nagel

http://www.bowenandco.com/
http://www.lintonmedia.com/