A Master 's Legacy

 Thnaks to Eileen  Yin Fei Lo, American home chefs have learned the subtleties of Chinese cooking. She introduced an entire generation to both varied and healthy Chinese cooking. Thanks to her,people  discovered they could  make the dishes they craved isntead of relying on take out.

Sadly Chef Lo passed away at the age of eighty five back in November.She was born in Guangzhou China, the daughter of a government worker and a homemaker. She married American journalist Fred Ferretti in Hong Kong where her family fled after the Cultural Revolution. She lived in Monclair ,New Jersey . According to her son Stephen Ferretti , she was constantly critical of restaurant food. It was easier to cook at home. She and her husband shared a deep connection to food. They even wrote joint reviews for the New York Times where Mr. Feretti worked. Her love of cooking led to her writing cookbooks. Thanks to her home chefs learned how to create won tons, siu mai - a Cantonese version for wonton and char si bao, buns stuffed with barbecued pork.She became friendly with such famed chefs as David Burke and Charlie Palmer and taught them how to cook Chinese food in their establishments. Chef Burke even hired her in the mid-1990s to create a dim sum brunch at his Park Avenue Cafe restaurant.

Yet it is Chef Lo's cookbooks that will be her best legacy. They're still sold on Amazon and there is a wide variety to choose from. She even wrote The Chinese Way :Healthy Low Fat Cooking From CHinese Regions (Wiley Publishers 1987) which features Chinese vegetarian cooking along with healthy ways of cooking through steaming and stir frying. Her first cookbook The Dim Sum Cookbook published in 1981 allowed  home chefs to have the fun of creating all sorts of won tons for the first time. They didin;t have to travel to their city's Chinatowns or Chinese restaurants. Authentic dishes can be made at home. Her second book Eileen Yin-fei Lo's New Cantonese Cooking (Viking 1988)  followed by ten more and ending with  Mastering The Art of Chinese  Cooking(CHronicle Books LLC 2012).  New York Times food critic Florence Fabricant praised her New Cantonese Cooking in 1989 for its' departure from the Chinese food Americans knew. There was a growing interest in Cantonese food  and she introduced Americans  to its freshly delicate and highly seasoned cooking along with how to s on navigating through Chinese markets.

Eileen Yin-Fei Lo made a huge impact on modern American cuisine/ She brought authentic Chinese recipes to the American table. Gone were the days fo chop suey and in its' place authentic wontons and char si bao.