Ching-He Huang (Chinese: 黃瀞億; pinyin: Huáng Jìngyì; Wadeâ€"Giles: lang="zh-Latn-wadegile" xml:lang="zh-Latn-wadegile">Huang2 Ching4-i4; born 8 November 1978), often known in English-language media simply as Ching, is a British Chinese food writer and TV chef who has appeared in a variety of television cooking shows and is the author of six best-selling cookbooks. Ching is recognised as a foodie entrepreneur having created her own food businesses. She has become known for Chinese cookery internationally through her TV shows, books, tableware range and involvement in many campaigns and causes.
Early life
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Born in Tainan, Taiwan, Republic of China, Ching spent most of her early childhood (from age 5) in South Africa before her parents moved to London, England, when she was 11 years old. Educated at Queen Mary and Westfield College of the University of London and Bocconi Business School in Milan, Ching graduated with a first class economics degree and set up her own food businesses, Fuge Ltd and TZU.
Broadcasting career
Ching is known for her cookery programmes, her first being Ching's Kitchen which was first shown on UKTV Food in 2005. Other television appearances followed including Daily Cooks, Saturday Cooks and Great Food Live.
She is a regular guest on the BBC's Saturday Kitchen with James Martin, and has made guest appearances on Food and Drink with Tom Kerridge, Channel 4's Sunday Brunch, CBBC's The Munch Box, BBC's Christmas Kitchen and Spring Kitchen, Channel 4's Weekend Kitchen with Waitrose, UK Food's Market Kitchen as well as guest appearances on Ready Steady Cook, Cooking the Books and cooked live for Melanie Sykes on Grand Designs Live. She appeared as a regular guest on Sky Television food show Taste, hosted by Beverley Turner.
The Chinese Food Made Easy television series has been licensed into The Cooking Channel (USA), New Zealand, Germany, Iceland, Poland, Australia and Belgium and has been picked up by the BBC’s Lifestyle channel for all its Asian feeds, including China, Hong Kong SAR, Republic of China, Singapore and Korea.
In 2010, Ching fronted a new thirteen part cookery series on Five. The series Chinese Food in Minutes was based her book "Ching's Chinese Food in Minutes", published by HarperCollins in September 2009. It included a branded microsite with video, recipes, episode guides and competitions, plus additional exclusive content websites.
In 2011 her 13-episode series Easy Chinese San Francisco by Ching He Huang debuted on the Cooking Channel.
Ching returned to BBC2 in 2012 for Exploring China: A Culinary Adventure which showed her travelling and exploring China’s culinary culture with Cantonese chef, Ken Hom. There is an accompanying book to the series.
On June 2, 2012, Easy Chinese: New York and LA, another 13-part series premiered on the Cooking Channel.
Easy Chinese: New Year Special San Francisco â€" a one-hour special about the Ultimate Chinese Feast aired on February 10, 2013 on Cooking Channel.
On February 10, 2013, Ching was featured on the first season, episode 45 of Channel 4's Sunday Brunch, preparing a traditional Chinese New Year meal of dim sum. She appeared on Channel 4's Sunday Brunch again on June 9, 2013, prior to attending the Daytime Emmy Awards for which she was nominated as best culinary TV host for her show Easy Chinese: New York & LA (USA).
In Autumn 2013, Ching shot her fourth show in partnership with the Cooking Channel. This new series titled Restaurant Redemption saw, over the course of 25 half-hour episodes, Ching travelling across the US to meet failing restaurateurs who own Asian restaurants and help them save the businesses they love. The show has been aired in the United States, United Kingdom, and across the Asian Food Channel from Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia to Indonesia.
Following the first series in autumn 2014, the second series of the Restaurant Redemption premiered in the United States.
Ching also featured in a six-part one-hour documentary - Eat: The Story of Food for National Geographic Channel in the United States alongside well-known chefs in November 2014.
Ching fronted a 10 × 30-minute series â€" The Big Eat for the Food Network UK which aired on 16 February 2015.
In May 2015, Ching filmed a new 10-part series Ching: Amazing Asia for the Food Network UK. Produced by Sentient Films and co-produced by Ching and Jamie Cho, the 10 × 30-minute series will air in the UK in the fourth quarter and early next year in EMEA.
Occasional chef on ITV's Lorraine since 2016.
Publications
Ching-He Huang has launched Click & Cook, an online video recipe library, offering exclusive step-by-step nutritious Chinese fusion recipes for people to cook themselves at home.
In 2006 she published her first recipe book, China Modern, which contained a variety of Chinese influenced recipes.
In 2008, she published a second recipe book to accompany a 6-part peak time television series Chinese Food Made Easy, commissioned and shown by BBC Two and BBC HD. Chinese Food Made Easy aired in June 2008 and was an instant success, attracting millions of viewers. Her book, also called Chinese Food Made Easy, was published alongside the series and was a number 1 bestseller for six weeks.
Chings's third book, Ching's Chinese Food in Minutes, was published on 3 September 2009.
In 2011, Ching’s Fast Food (UK edition) and the US version Everyday Easy Chinese was released featuring her most memorable childhood experiences, intertwined with Chinese superstition, etiquette and original suggestions for exciting variations on classic recipes.
In 2012, Exploring China: A Culinary Adventure was published. The book accompanied the BBC TV series, following Ching and godfather of Cantonese cooking, Ken Hom, as they travelled and explored China’s culinary culture.
In March 2015, Ching released her latest book, Eat Clean: Wok Yourself to Health for Harper Thorsons, promising simple, nutritious dishes that will detoxify and nourish your body.
Other writing
Ching has had multiple appearances in the UK national press with features in Independent on Sunday, Observer Food Monthly, The Telegraph and a three-week serial in The Times.
Ching has also written for several food magazines such as Olive, and Delicious. Her magazine contributions include a red carpet report from the Emmy’s for Grazia, BBC Good Food, Women’s Health (magazine), BA Highlife, Jamie, OK!, Hello (magazine), Sainsbury’s, Stella (Sunday Telegraph), The Sun TV, Metropolitan Global Times, and Chinese Weekly.
Ching has also contributed to online publications including, BBC Chinese World Service, lovefood.com, BA digital as well as websites such as Good Food Channel and Food Network.
Notable appearances
In 2015, she was asked to demonstrate to the HRH Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall the art of dumpling making on their royal visit to Chinatown in London in celebration of Chinese New Year on 19 February 2015. In 2007, she was also asked to conduct the food tour of Chinatown, London, for the Duke and Duchess's first visit together.
Also passionate about her charity work, she regularly supports a number of organisations including, Mothers’ Bridge of Love â€" Help Chinese Children, the international charity Tzu Chi, Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, British Lung Foundation, World Wide Fund for Nature, Macmillan Cancer Support and Sense a charity for deafblind children.
Awards
- Chinese Food Made Easy won the award for Second Best Chinese cuisine book in the world at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2009.
- Chinese Food in Minutes won the award for 3rd Best Chinese cuisine book in the world at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2010.
- Chinese Food Made Easy 2011 NAMIC Vision Awards Winner-Lifestyle Category
- Best Food Broadcast Award for BBC 2's Exploring China: A Culinary Adventure at the 2013 Guild of Food Writers Awards.
- Best Culinary Host nominee for Cooking Channel's Easy Chinese in Daytime Emmy Awards 2013.
- Gourmand Award 2013 for BBC 2's Exploring China: A Culinary Adventure.
Personal life
Ching-He Huang lives with her husband, actor Jamie Cho, in Cricklewood, North London.
She is also an avid supporter of Traditional Chinese Medicine. On 5 October 2010, she signed an online petition against the impending European Directive on Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products, adding the comment: "This is absurd! I grew up using herbal medicine. More money into research and let the people decide."
Published works
- China Modern (Kyle Cathie, 2006) ISBNÂ 978-1-85626-673-4
- Chinese Food Made Easy (HarperCollins, 2008) ISBNÂ 978-0-00-726498-8
- Ching's Chinese Food in Minutes (HarperCollins, 2009) ISBNÂ 978-0-00-726500-8
- Ching's Chinese Food Made Easy Paperback (HarperCollins, April 2011) ISBNÂ 978-0-00-726499-5
- Ching’s Fast Food (HarperCollins, April 2011) ISBN 978-0-00-742627-0
- Ching's Everyday Easy Chinese (William Morrow Cookbooks, 4 October 2011) ISBNÂ 978-0-06-207749-3
- Exploring China: A Culinary Adventure (BBC Books 7 Jun 2012) ISBNÂ 978-1-84990-498-8
- Eat Clean: Wok Yourself to Health (Harper Thorsons 26 March 2015) ISBNÂ 978-0-00-742629-4
References
External links
- Official Chinese Food In Minutes Website
- Ching He Huang Queen Mary University-Biogs
- Ching He Huang Profile at VisibleChinese