Martin Yan
James Beard Award Winning Chef
“Yan Can Cook, So Can You!” has always been the motto of Martin Yan,
chef extraordinaire and popular television host recognized from Shanghai
to San Francisco. Promoting Chinese cuisine, making it easy for the cook
and tasty for the guests has been his life-long mission. Born in Guangzhou
in Southern China, Chef Yan is technically a second generation ‘culinarian,’
who was first inspired by his mother in the tiny kitchen of their family
restaurant.
After receiving his formal restaurant training in Hong Kong, Chef Yan
immigrated to Calgary, Canada where on one snowy day he was asked to
appear in a daytime news program to demonstrate Chinese cooking. The
rest, as they say, was television history. From that small station in Canada,
the Yan Can Cook Show grew to become one of the most popular cooking
programs on public television, both in North America and on the global
stage. It has won the James Beard Award for Best Food Documentary
Show for two consecutive seasons.
Never one to rest on his laurels, Martin has remained an active international food ambassador. He roams
the world representing different commercial and social concerns to entertain and educate the public,
sharing with them his unique humor and strong passion for Chinese cooking.