Grace Young

Grace Young is an award-winning cookbook author, culinary historian, and filmmaker, widely recognized as a leading advocate for America’s Chinatowns and AAPI small businesses. A 2023 Forbes 50 Over 50 honoree, she has received the Julia Child Award, the James Beard Foundation’s Humanitarian of the Year Award, and USA Today’s Women of the Year distinction for her impact-driven work.

A three-time James Beard Award winner and six-time IACP Award recipient (including a Lifetime Achievement Award), Young has paired culinary excellence with activism. Through campaigns like #SupportChinatowns and her video series "Coronavirus: Chinatown Stories," she has raised national awareness about the challenges facing Chinese American communities during the pandemic and beyond.

Often called the “poet laureate of the wok,” Young has dedicated her career to preserving traditional wok cooking and bringing its techniques into modern kitchens. Her influential cookbooks—including "The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen" and "Stir-Frying to the Sky’s Edge"—have earned critical acclaim, while her scholarship helped introduce the concept of wok hei (“breath of a wok”) into Western culinary vocabulary.

Beyond writing, Young is an educator, speaker, and longtime contributor to major food publications. She has held leadership roles in culinary institutions, taught thousands through classes and programs, and continues to shape food history as a member of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History’s Kitchen Cabinet.