The Homepage: the latest news and notes from your editor
September 8, 2009
Your less than reliable editor is closing up shop for a while, and will lock the doors for some months. Joan and I are off on a round the world adventure, one which may yet add pieces to the puzzle of Chef Wang Jiao. Cynthia took the news with typical haughtiness, saying, "Whatever!" tossing back her glossy blond hair and storming out. We'll all miss her, especially my wife, who will have no one to roll her eyes at except me. Lt. Colonel Arfers won't even know we're gone, and I can only hope he'll amass a stockpile of translations during this time. I'm sure the haitus will disappoint the three or four people who visit this site, and to them I simply say, stay the course, work through the recipes, and like us, keep your eyes open for signs of our hero.
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Currently, this is one of only two known photographs of Master Chef Jiao Wang riding a bike, loaded with vegetables, in Shanghai, circa 1998. I recovered this from his satchel of personal effects--fortunately for us, his name and the date of the photo were scrawled on the back in nearly illegible Chinese. It is not known, but mere speculation, that Wang returned to his native city for the International Conference of Chinese Chefs held there that year. While he may have hobnobbed with his colleagues outside the convention hall, a quick look at the registration book indicates he was not officially in attendance, at least, not under his real name.
WHAT WE KNOW THUS FAR: 1949--Communist takeover October1; Wang 1951 Campaign to “suppress counter-revolutionaries” Wang’s parents come under attack. 1960’s Love letters…. 1967—Cultural Revolution—Wang 26 yrs old 1998--We have Wang in Shanghai attending an international conference of Chinese chefs 2004 In Bangkok, working at Oriental hotel for short time, left because “he wasn’t happy.” Bangkok Post had quote of Prime minister saying best duck in town, new Chinese chef at Oriental. 2005—Working in Bangkok, at Jade Palace or Imperial Garden, sublime roast duck. 2009—Wang 68 yrs old, known to have worked in New York dumpling joints. Whereabouts currently unknown. |
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