Museum of Chinese in America

George Chew was born in 1950 and grew up in New York Chinatown. His family immigrated from the southern Chinese island province of Hainan. His father was not home often because of work, yet he enjoyed his father’s cooking, and eventually learned to cook on his own. Chew’s skillset grew when he moved to Washington to study law. Now an immigration judge, Chew continues to cook and hold banquets. Of these gatherings, he cooks both western and Chinese food. Chew gets his influence from cook books and learns to adapt recipes to be his own. He believes that good ingredients are the key. While contributing to a potluck, Chew dish won a competition he did not know about. He went on to compete at a national cookoff in Chicago. Chew was a poet and currently a lawyer. Though, he is immensely proud of his contribution to Chinese cuisine.