Martin Yan

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Family name hatnote Template:Infobox chef Template:Infobox Chinese Martin Yan (Template:Zh; born 22 December 1948) is a Chinese-American chef and food writer. He has hosted his award-winning PBS-TV cooking show Yan Can Cook since 1982.

Early years and educationEdit

With ancestral roots in Hoiping, Yan was born in Guangzhou, Guangdong, 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-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">Template:Cite news</ref>

CareerEdit

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 in San Francisco in 1982 becoming Yan Can Cook.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

He has hosted over 3,500 episodes of the PBS cooking show Yan Can Cook since 1982. His shows have been broadcast in over 50 countries.<ref name="TV Shows">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He currently hosts Martin Yan – Quick & Easy. He also hosts Martin Yan's Chinatowns, where he tours Chinatowns 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">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He has written over two dozen cookbooks.<ref name="TV Shows"/> The American Culinary Federation has designated him a Master Chef.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Yan is one of the lead actors of the Singapore/Hong Kong film Rice Rhapsody (海南雞飯, 2005).

In 2007, he supported and endorsed the establishment of the 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.

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.Template:Cn

In 2023, Yan said that he planned on reopening his M.Y. China restaurant<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</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>Template:Cite news</ref>

Television appearancesEdit

File:Loz martin yan 1994.jpg

Martin Yan in 1994

Yan Can (1978—1982) — Host
Yan Can Cook (1982— ) – Host<ref name="BTMBeijing">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Christine Cushing Live – Guest<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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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 (2013) – Guest Judge
Martin Yan: Taste of Vietnam (2013) – Host<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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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

CookbooksEdit

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Chinese Recipes (1978)
The Joy of Wokking (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>Template:Cite book</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

RestaurantsEdit

Restaurants owned by Martin Yan
name	location	years open	notes	reference
M.Y. Asia	Horseshoe Las Vegas	March 2023–August 2023		citation	CitationClass=web }}</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">Template:Cite news</ref>
M.Y. China	Graton Resort and Casino Rohnert Park, California	2013–2015		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Yan Can	Santa Clara, California