Grace Zia Chu (August 23, 1899 – April 15, 1999) was an author of Chinese cookbooks and a major figure in American Chinese culinary world. Chu introduced generations of Americans to Chinese cooking.[1][2][3]
Grace Zia Chu | |
|---|---|
 Grace Zia, from the 1924 Wellesley College yearbook | |
| Born | August 23, 1899 |
| Died | April 15, 1999 (aged 99) Columbus, Ohio, US |
| Occupation(s) | Cookbook author, cooking teacher |
Personal life
editGrace Zia Chu was born in Shanghai on 23 August 1899. Her parents were Zia Hong-lai and Sochen Sze. Grace Anna Zia[4] attended the McTyeire School and later Wellesley College in the United States. Upon graduation in 1924,[5] Zia returned to teach physical education in China at McTyeire and Ginling College.
In 1928, Zia married Chu Shih-ming, who was appointed military attache to the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C. in 1941, representing the Nationalist government. She returned to China after World War II, only to resettle in the United States by 1950. Five years later, Zia naturalized as an American citizen, and moved to New York City, where she taught cooking at her home, the China Institute, and the Mandarin House restaurant. Zia moved to Columbus, Ohio in the mid 1980s. Zia died at the age of 99 in Columbus on April 15, 1999.[6]
Notable works
editThe New York Times called her 1962 cookbook The Pleasures of Chinese Cooking. Chu authored Madame Chu's Chinese Cooking School in 1975, a detailed cookbook for the beginner to advanced cook.
Awards and honours
editGrace Zia Chu was named Grande Dame of Les Dames d'Escoffier, New York Chapter in 1984.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Harvard University Library:Chu, Grace Zia, papers of Grace Zia Chu". Archived from the original on 2012-05-15. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
- ^ Grace Chu: An Editor's Tribute
- ^ New York Times:FOOD: The Lives They Lived: Grace Zia Chu, b. 1900; West Meets East
- ^ Keene, Ann T. (2009). "Chu, Grace Zia (1899-1999), cooking authority and writer | American National Biography". doi:10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.2001915. ISBN 978-0-19-860669-7.
- ^ Wellesley College, Legenda (1924 yearbook): 121.
- ^ "Grace Zia Chu, 99, Guide to Chinese Cooking". New York Times. April 19, 1999. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
External links
edit- Papers of Grace Zia Chu, 1941-1986. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.