Remember Chef Fu Pei Mei? Her Life Story Is Now on Netflix
If you grew up in the ’80s or ’90s, there’s a good chance you watched Fu Pei Mei’s cooking show on RPN 9 on Sunday morning. In the cooking show, she shared her countless recipes on Chinese cuisine, helping raise generations of home cooks not only in her homeland Taiwan, but also around the world where her show was a staple.
Fu Pei Mei hosted cooking shows for 40 years
From 1962 to 2002, Fu Pei Mei showcased her mastery of Chinese culinary arts through her cooking programs on Taiwanese and Japanese television networks. She cooked over 4,000 dishes in her shows, making her one of the most prolific celebrity chefs in the world. Her program was released around the world, including in the U.S. and the Philippines.
She also ran a cooking school and authored over 30 cookbooks, cementing her authority on Chinese cooking. Dubbed “Julia Child of Taiwan,” Fu Pei Mei's warm demeanor and ability to demystify complex cooking techniques endeared her to millions of viewers, making her a household name in Taiwan and beyond.Fu Pei Mei worked on her cooking show for most of her life. She died in 2004, two years after her last episode aired in 2002.
Fu Pei Mei's efforts to document and standardize traditional recipes preserved the culinary heritage for future generations. She recognized the need to preserve traditional recipes and culinary techniques, which were at risk of being lost in a rapidly modernizing world. Among her cookbooks, the acclaimed "Fu Pei Mei's Chinese Cooking" series provided detailed instructions and explanations of her most famous recipes. These books remain invaluable resources for both aspiring chefs and home cooks, ensuring the continuity of authentic Chinese cooking.
On October 1, 2015, Google honored Fu pei Mei with a Google Doodle, depicting the chef in her iconic kitchen:
From: SPIN.ph
