October 8, 2024 2:00 pm

In 2020, at the start of the pandemic, James Beard award-winning cookbook author Grace Young stepped away from her 50 year career as a culinary professional to become what Grub Street dubbed the “accidental voice of Chinatown.” As she has reported widely, "My life changed the moment I saw how the pandemic had devastated NYC's Chinatown's businesses, virtually overnight, and though I had no experience as an activist I felt called to speak up for the community.” Her work advocating for America’s Chinatowns has earned her international recognition plus numerous awards including being named a Forbes 50 Over 50 honoree.
Grace Young is an award-winning cookbook author and culinary historian. She is a 2023 Forbes 50 Over 50 honoree, is the recipient of the Julia Child Award, the James Beard Foundation’s Humanitarian of the Year Award and is a USA Today Women of the Year honoree for her work to save America’s Chinatowns. Grace has been featured on CBS Mornings, PBS Newshour, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, All Things Considered, Smithsonian and Vogue magazine. Named the “Poet Laureate of the wok” by the food historian Betty Fussell, Grace has devoted her career to celebrating healthy wok cookery. She was featured in the WeightWatchers Stir-Fry Guru video series and has written for EatingWell, Shape, Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Fitness, Health, Cooking Light, and Diabetic Living magazines. Her accolades include James Beard Awards for her Wok Therapist comedy video and cookbook Stir-Frying to the Sky’s Edge. She is a six-time IACP award-winner, including the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award and the Culinary Classics Award for her cookbook The Breath of a Wok.