User:Slaporte/Peter Chang

Peter Chang is an award winning chef specializing in Szechwan cuisine who has cooked for restaurants in the American southeast. Chang was born in the Hubei Province and trained in China, and cooked a meal for the Chinese premier, Hu Jintao. He moved to the United States to work as the chef at the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C.. Chang has disappeared and left restaurants, inspiring a group of fans to follow his movement in Internet discussion boards, such as Chowhound.

Disappearances and movement
In 2005, Todd Kliman reviewed China’s coking at China Star in Fairfax, Virginia. By the time that review was published, Chang had moved to TemptAsian in Alexandria. At TemptAsian, Chang’s cooking became popular in discussion boards for food enthusiasts. In May 2006, Chang moved to China Gourmet/Szechuan Boy in Fairfax, Virginia, where Kliman again gave his cooking a strong positive review. Within two months, Chang left. In September 2006, Chang’s followers found him working at Tasty China in Marietta, Georgia. By early 2007, Chang had again disappeared. In 2008, Chang began working at Hong Kong House in Knoxville, Tennessee. A year later, Chang moved to Taste of China/Szechuan Boy in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Chang attributes his frequent change in restaurants to dissatisfaction with working conditions and a “desire to give various regions of America an opportunity to taste authentic Szechuan cooking.”