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HELEN CHEN

It would appear that Helen Chen was born to cook. The daughter of world famous culinary figure Joyce Chen, who was inducted into the James Beard Hall of Fame in 1998 for her lasting contributions to America’s culinary scene, Helen learned to cook the old fashioned way – from her mother. Born in Shanghai, China, Helen emigrated to the U.S. with her family as a baby. They settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts through the suggestion of Joyce’s cousin, a journalist who received his college education at Harvard University.

Besides early exposure to Chinese food at home, Helen was active in the family restaurant, named for her mother. Established in 1958, the family restaurant became a landmark in the greater Boston area and a pioneer in introducing Northern Chinese cuisine to America. Regular clientele, to name a few, included the presidents of Harvard and MIT, Dr. Henry Kissinger, the Nixon daughters, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Beverly Sills, Danny Kaye, Dr. Edwin Land, Norbert Wiener, Julia Child and other luminaries of academia, politics, arts and entertainment.

As a result of the difficulty in obtaining quality cooking utensils for Asian cooking, her mother established Joyce Chen Products in the mid 1960’s to develop, market and distribute Asian cooking utensils and accessories. At her mother’s retirement due to Alzheimer’s disease, Helen took over the reins of the company in 1982 until 2003 when the company was sold. Joyce Chen passed away in 1994.

Not ready to “hang up her apron” Helen continued to be active in teaching, writing and consulting. In 2006 she joined forces with Harold Import Company, a leading distributor of household and kitchen utensils, to create a new line of Asian cookware and accessories under the brand Helen's Asian Kitchen. (Note: Helen’s Asian Kitchen is not affiliated with Joyce Chen Products.)

In addition to her role as a leading expert in Chinese cooking, Helen is an educator, cookbook author, lecturer and culinary consultant. She is a frequent guest instructor at cooking schools throughout the U.S. and has lectured at various professional and culinary organizations such as the International Association of Culinary Professionals, Boston University Seminars in the Arts and Culinary Arts, Rhode Island School of Design Continuing Education, Oldways Preservations and Exchange Trust, the Culinary Historians of Boston and the Culinary Guild of Boston. She also occasionally conducts culinary tours of Boston’s Chinatown.

Helen is the author of Helen Chen’s Chinese Home Cooking (Hearst Books, 1994), Peking Cuisine (Orion Books, 1997) and Helen’s Asian Kitchen: Easy Chinese Stir Fries (Wiley & Sons, 2009); with another cookbook, Helen’s Asian Kitchen: Easy Asian Noodles scheduled for publication in spring of 2010.