Editing Martin Yan

{{short description|Chinese-American chef and food writer (born 1948)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{family name hatnote|[[Zhen (surname)|Yan]]|lang=Chinese}}
{{Infobox chef <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox chef/doc]] -->
| image = MartinYan 2004.12.jpg
| caption = Yan in 2004
| birth_date  = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1948|12|22}}
| birth_place = [[Guangzhou]], [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|China]]
| style = [[Cantonese cuisine|Cantonese]]
| education = [[Munsang College]]<br />Overseas Institute of Cookery of Hong Kong<br />[[University of California, Davis]]
| restaurants = (closed: M.Y. Asia (Las Vegas))<br />(closed: M.Y. China (San Francisco))<br />(closed: Yan Can ([[Santa Clara, California|Santa Clara]])) 
<br />(closed: M.Y. China ([[Rohnert Park, California|Rohnert Park]]))
| television = ''[[Yan Can Cook]]''<br />''Martin Yan – Quick & Easy''<br />''Martin Yan's Chinatowns''<br />''Martin Yan's Hong Kong'' <br /> "Martin Yan's Asian Favourites
| website = {{url|http://www.yancancook.com/}}
| module = 
}}
{{infobox Chinese
|t= 甄文達
|s= 甄文达
|bpmf= ㄓㄣ ㄨㄣˊㄉㄚˊ 
|j=Jan<sup>1</sup> Man<sup>4</sup> Daat<sup>6</sup>
|ci={{IPAc-yue|j|an|1|-|m|an|4|-|d|aat|6}}
|p=Zhēn Wéndá
|gr=Jen Wendar
}}
'''Martin Yan''' ({{zh|t=甄文達}}; born 22 December 1948) is a [[Chinese-American]] [[chef]] and [[food writer]]. He has hosted his award-winning [[PBS|PBS-TV]] cooking show ''[[Yan Can Cook]]'' since 1982.

== Early years and education ==
With ancestral roots in [[Kaiping|Hoiping]], Yan was born in [[Guangzhou]], [[Guangdong]], [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|China]] to a [[restaurateur]] father and a [[grocer]] mother. Yan began to cook at the age of 12. When he was 13, he moved to [[Hong Kong]], where he attended the [[Munsang College]] in [[Kowloon City]]. During this time in Munsang College, he worked at his uncle's Chinese restaurant and learned the traditional method of [[Chinese barbecue]]. He received a diploma from the Overseas Institute of Cookery of Hong Kong and later left for Canada for continued study. Ten years after his arrival in North America, Yan received a [[Master of Science degree]] in [[food science]] from [[University of California, Davis]], in 1975.

He is not related to [[Chinese people|Chinese]]-[[Canada|Canadian]] chef [[Stephen Yan]] of ''[[Wok With Yan]]'', though for a year in the 1970s, Martin Yan worked for Stephen Yan who trained him as one of Stephen Yan's 'Flying Squad' of six chefs who flew across Canada to do demonstrations in Chinese cooking for events like the [[Calgary Stampede]], the [[Klondike Days]] in Edmonton and houseware demonstrations at [[Hudson's Bay Company]] stores.<ref name="OJ">{{cite news |title=Chef Yan may serve up a hit |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/43391486/ |access-date=August 10, 2024 |work=Ottawa Journal |date=May 10, 1980}}</ref>

==Career==
Yan began teaching Chinese cooking for a college extension program. While in [[Calgary]] helping a friend open a restaurant he appeared on a talk show on CFAC-TV, (now [[CICT-DT]]), to do a cooking segment resulting in his being asked back repeatedly. This led to 250 daily editions of his  original series ''Yan Can'' being produced  and syndicated from CFAC for four years until moving to [[KQED (TV)|KQED]] in [[San Francisco]] in 1982 becoming ''Yan Can Cook''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Krishna |first1=Priya |title=Four Decades on, Martin Yan Faces a New Audience and a New World |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/15/dining/martin-yan.html |access-date=August 10, 2024 |work=New York Times |date=June 15, 2021 |ref=Krishna}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Maiellano |first=Sarah |title=2022 Lifetime Achievement Award Winner Martin Yan |url=https://www.jamesbeard.org/blog/2022-lifetime-achievement-award-winner-martin-yan |website=James Beard Foundation |access-date=August 10, 2024}}</ref>

He has hosted over 3,500 episodes of the [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] cooking show ''Yan Can Cook'' since 1982. His shows have been broadcast in over 50 countries.<ref name="TV Shows">{{cite web|url=http://www.yancancook.com/tvshows.htm |publisher=YanCanCook.com |title=TV Shows |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511234556/http://yancancook.com/tvshows.htm |archive-date=11 May 2008 }}</ref> He currently hosts ''Martin Yan – Quick & Easy''. He also hosts ''Martin Yan's Chinatowns'', where he tours [[Chinatown]]s around the globe as well as "Martin Yan's Hidden China."

Yan has opened a chain of Yan Can Restaurants and founded the Yan Can International Cooking School in [[San Francisco]].<ref name="YCR">{{cite web |url=http://www.yancanrestaurants.com |publisher=YanCanRestaurants.com |title= Yan Can restaurants}}</ref> He has written over two dozen cookbooks.<ref name="TV Shows"/> The [[American Culinary Federation]] has designated him a Master Chef.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/food/chefs/martin-yan/|title=Martin Yan|website=PBS Food|publisher=Public Broadcasting Service|access-date=2016-03-15}}</ref>

Yan is one of the lead actors of the [[Cinema of Singapore|Singapore]]/[[Cinema of Hong Kong|Hong Kong film]] ''[[Rice Rhapsody]]'' ([[Hainanese chicken rice|海南雞飯]], 2005).

In 2007, he supported and endorsed the establishment of the [http://www.wamc1950.com World Association of Master Chefs].

He has appeared as a guest judge on several episodes of ''[[Iron Chef America]]'' and appeared on the cartoon talk show ''[[Space Ghost Coast to Coast]]''. He also appeared as a guest judge on the Season 10 finale of ''[[Top Chef]]'' as well as a Season 11 episode of ''[[Hell's Kitchen (U.S. season 11)|Hell's Kitchen]]''.

He is not related to Chinese Canadian chef [[Stephen Yan]] of the [[CBC Television]] series ''[[Wok with Yan]]'', though Martin was an employee and had worked for Stephen Yan in the 1980s as demonstrator for Stephen's products.{{cn|date=February 2024}}

In 2023, Yan said that he planned on reopening his M.Y. China restaurant<ref>{{Cite web |title=M.Y. China {{!}} Restaurants {{!}} Cass Calder Smith |url=https://www.casscaldersmith.com/restaurants/my-china |access-date=2025-01-06 |website=www.casscaldersmith.com}}</ref> in San Francisco. He said that he had considering reopening the restaurant in the former home of Cathay House restaurant (which was closed in 2018).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Guerrero |first=Susana |title=Celebrity chef Martin Yan plans to revive M.Y. China in SF |url=https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/sf-martin-yan-my-china-restaurant-chinatown-18301993.php |access-date=February 20, 2024 |work=SFGATE |language=en}}</ref>

==Television appearances ==
[[File:Loz martin yan 1994.jpg|thumb|right|Martin Yan in 1994]]
* ''Yan Can'' (1978—1982) — Host
* ''[[Yan Can Cook]]'' (1982— ) – Host<ref name="BTMBeijing">{{cite web |url=http://www.btmbeijing.com/contents/en/btm/2006-01/profile/cookinbeijing |publisher=Beijing This Month |title=No Doubt about It Yan Can Cook in Beijing |first=Daragh |last=Moller |date=January 1, 2006 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205002357/http://www.btmbeijing.com/contents/en/btm/2006-01/profile/cookinbeijing |archive-date=December 5, 2008 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
* ''[[Christine Cushing Live]]'' – Guest<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.foodtv.ca/ontv/titledetails.aspx?titleid=72039 | title=Food Network Canada &#124; Best Easy Recipes & Cooking Tips }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.foodtv.ca/ontv/titledetails.aspx?titleid=82718 | title=Food Network Canada &#124; Best Easy Recipes & Cooking Tips }}</ref>
* ''[[Space Ghost Coast to Coast]]'' (1996) – Guest
* ''Martin Yan's Hong Kong'' (2005–2007) – Host
* ''Martin Yan – Quick & Easy'' – Host
* ''Martin Yan's Chinatowns'' – Host
* ''Yan Can Cook: Spice Kingdom''- Host
* ''Martin Yan's China'' (2008) – host
* ''[[Iron Chef America]]'' (2011) – Judge
* ''[[Food Court]]'' (2011) Hong Kong Cable TV – Tutor / Host
* ''[[Iron Chef Vietnam]]'' (2012) – Guest Judge
* ''[[Top Chef]]'' (2013) – Guest Judge
* ''[[Hell's Kitchen (U.S. season 11)|Hell's Kitchen]]'' (2013) – Guest Judge
* ''Martin Yan: Taste of Vietnam'' (2013) – Host<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thanhnien.com.vn/pages/20120512/cung-martin-yan-kham-pha-viet-nam.aspx|title=Cùng Martin Yan khám phá Việt Nam|date=13 May 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://blogs.kqed.org/pressroom/martin-yan-taste-of-vietnam/ |title=Martin Yan Returns to Public Television with Taste of Vietnam, Premiering This Fall : KQED's Pressroom |website=blogs.kqed.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627170518/http://blogs.kqed.org/pressroom/martin-yan-taste-of-vietnam/ |archive-date=June 27, 2014}}</ref>
* ''Back to Basics'' (2013) – Host
* ''Martin Yan: Taste of Malaysia'' (2015) – Host
* ''Rick Stein's Road to Mexico - Episode 1'' (2017) - Guest
* ''Martin Yan's Asian Favorites'' (2018— ) - Host

==Cookbooks==
{{expand list|date=June 2010}}
* ''Chinese Recipes'' (1978)
* ''The Joy of [[Wok]]king'' (1978)
* ''The Yan Can Cook Book'' (1981, reprinted 1983)
* ''Everybody's Wokking''
* ''The Well-Seasoned Wok''
* ''Martin Yan's Feast: The Best of Yan Can Cook''
* ''Chinese Cooking [[for Dummies]]''
* ''Martin Yan's Asian Favorites''
* ''Martin Yan's Quick and Easy''
* ''Martin Yan's Chinatowns''
* ''Martin Yan's Chinatown Cooking: 200 Traditional Recipes From 11 Chinatowns Around the World''<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://sfpl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/1802324093|isbn=9780060084752|title=Martin Yan's Chinatown cooking: 200 traditional recipes from 11 chinatowns around the world|year=2002|publisher=William Morrow}}</ref>
* ''Martin Yan's Culinary Journey Through China''
* ''Martin Yan's Asia''
* ''Martin Yan’s China''
* ''Martin Yan's Entertainment At-Home''
* ''Martin Yan the Chinese Chef''
* ''Martin Yan's Invitation to Chinese Cooking''
* ''Martin Yan's Feast''
* ''A Wok for All Seasons, 1988''

==Restaurants==

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Restaurants owned by Martin Yan
|-
! name !! location !! years open !! notes !! reference
|-
| M.Y. Asia || [[Horseshoe Las Vegas]] || March 2023–August 2023|| || <ref name="Eater Las Vegas M.Y. Asia Horseshoe">{{cite web |last=Stapleton |first=Susan |title=PBS Cooking Show Star Martin Yan Brings the Flavors of Asia to the Las Vegas Strip in 2022 |url=https://vegas.eater.com/2022/2/14/22928978/martin-yan-myasia-opening-las-vegas-strip-in-2022-ballys-horseshoe |website=Eater Las Vegas |publisher=Vox Media LLC |access-date=February 15, 2022 |date=February 14, 2022 }}</ref>
|-
| M.Y. China || [[Westfield San Francisco Centre]] mall || 2012–2020
|
* closed due to [[COVID-19 pandemic]]
* co-owned by Koi Palace, Daly City owners
| <ref name="SF Gate M.Y. China SF">{{cite news |last=Guerrero |first=Susana |title=M.Y. China, co-owned by celebrity chef Martin Yan, permanently closes |url=https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/M-Y-China-co-owned-by-celebrity-chef-Martin-15748822.php |access-date=February 15, 2022 |work=SFGATE |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |date=November 23, 2020}}</ref>
|-
| M.Y. China || [[Graton Resort and Casino]]<br />Rohnert Park, California || 2013–2015 || || <ref name="Eater SF M.Y. China Graton">{{cite web |last=Pape |first=Allie |title=Graton Casino Opens, with Keane, Gemignani, Yan in Tow |url=https://sf.eater.com/2013/11/6/6335185/graton-casino-opens-with-keane-gemignani-yan-in-tow |website=Eater San Francisco |publisher=Vox Media LLC |access-date=February 15, 2022 |date=November 6, 2013 }}</ref>
|-
| Yan Can || Santa Clara, California || || ||
|}

==Awards==
* An honorary Doctorate of Culinary Arts by [[Johnson & Wales University]]
* A [[Daytime Emmy Award]] in 1998 for best cooking show
* A 1996 [[James Beard Award]] for Best TV Food Journalism
* A 1994 James Beard Award for Best TV Cooking Show
* The [[Antonin Careme Award]] by the Chef's Association of the Pacific Coast
* The [[Courvoisier Leadership Award]] by [[Courvoisier]]
* 2008 [[Picnic Day (UC Davis)]] parade marshal
* [[James Beard Foundation Award|2022 James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award]]<ref>{{cite news | last =Wells | first =Madeline | title =Famed Bay Area chef and TV personality Martin Yan wins 2022 James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award| newspaper =[[SFGATE.com]] | location = | pages = | language = | publisher = | date = March 16, 2022| url =https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/Bay-Area-chef-wins-James-Beard-Award-17007077.php | accessdate =April 11, 2022 }}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Chinese American cuisine]]
* [[Cantonese cuisine]]
* [[Food science]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Martin Yan}}
* [http://www.yancancook.com/ Official Website]
* [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0945808/ Martin Yan on IMDb]
* [https://www.pbs.org/food/chefs/martin-yan Martin Yan's PBS home page]
* [http://www.kenbiroli.com/HCR-HOME.html Rice Rhapsody] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070521005855/http://www.kenbiroli.com/HCR-HOME.html |date=21 May 2007 }}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yan, Martin}}
[[Category:1948 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Chinese male writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American male writers]]
[[Category:21st-century Chinese male writers]]
[[Category:American food writers]]
[[Category:American male chefs]]
[[Category:American people of Hong Kong descent]]
[[Category:American television chefs]]
[[Category:American writers of Chinese descent]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Guangzhou]]
[[Category:Cantonese people]]
[[Category:Chefs from San Francisco]]
[[Category:Hong Kong chefs]]
[[Category:Hong Kong emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Hong Kong expatriates in the United States]]
[[Category:Hong Kong food writers]]
[[Category:Hong Kong television personalities]]
[[Category:Hong Kong television presenters]]
[[Category:People from Taishan, Guangdong]]
[[Category:People from the San Francisco Bay Area]]
[[Category:University of California, Davis alumni]]
[[Category:Writers from Guangzhou]]