Joyce Chen Biography

Joyce Chen

Chen and her husband Thomas fled China in 1949 when the Communists took over. They settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1958 Chen opened a Chinese restaurant in Cambridge. The restaurant flourished, and in 1973 a larger Cambridge restaurant was opened. Chen also began writing Chinese cookbooks and in the 1970s began hosting a cooking show on public television. She later developed a line of Chinese specialty foods and cooking utensils. Chen is credited with popularizing Mandarin Chinese food in the United States. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in the 1980's and eventually retired.