Richard Chen is the former executive chef of Wing Lei, a Chinese restaurant inside Wynn Las Vegas.

Early life and education

Chen was introduced to catering at the age of seven by his parents who ran a restaurant in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. The family moved to the United States and re-established a new restaurant in

suburban Chicago The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hi ...

where Richard continued assisting them. Chen graduated at the Culinary Institute of America in

Hyde Park, New York Hyde Park is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States, bordering the Hudson River north of Poughkeepsie. Within the town are the hamlets of Hyde Park, East Park, Staatsburg, and Haviland. Hyde Park is known as the hometown of Frankl ...

Career

In 1986 he was appointed chef at the La Vista International Hotel (which was in December 1995 renamed as

Marriott World Trade Center The Marriott World Trade Center was a 22-story, 825-room hotel at 3 World Trade Center within the World Trade Center complex in Manhattan, New York City. It opened in April 1981 as the Vista International Hotel and was the first major hotel t ...

). He then returned to Chicago to become a chef in Euro-French cuisine at the Ritz-Carlton Chicago. In 2002, Chen became Chef de Cuisine and manager of the fusion restaurant Shanghai Terrace at

The Peninsula Chicago The Peninsula Chicago is a hotel located at the intersection of East Superior Street and North Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. The hotel is part of The Peninsula Hotels group based in Hong Kong. The Peninsula Hotel group's parent Hongkong ...

. '' Chicago magazine'' named it as one of its "Best New Restaurants" in 2002 and Zagat listed it in the "Top Food, Service and Décor" category. While at the Shanghai Terrace, Chen also became executive chef of Wing Lei starting April 28, 2005 after an extensive recruitment campaign by Steve Wynn himself. The 2008 Las Vegas

Michelin Guide The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin star (classification), stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The ac ...

awarded it one star, making it the only Chinese restaurant in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

to have earned the honor. It has also received the 2008

AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Airports * Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA) * Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA) Arts, entertainment, and me ...

Four Diamond award. The name Wing Lei is derived from the translation of the Chinese character for Wynn and means "forever prosperous". Chen married Cathy Yee in the summer of 2006. Cathy owns the Chinese restaurant Ya Fei. Retrieved 2011-12-27. in the Robinson neighborhood in Pittsburgh. Kathy herself was named ''

Pittsburgh Magazine Pittsburgh Magazine is a lifestyle magazine covering the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. It hosts an annual "40 Under 40" featuring prominent young Pittsburghers. It's known for listicles including Pittsburgh's 25 Best Restaurants, Best of the 'Burg ...

s Restaurateur of the Year. Chen then opened his contemporary Chinese restaurant, Richard Chen Pan Asian Cuisine, on August 1, 2008, in the recently re-identified Eastside development in East Liberty neighborhood of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

with executive chef Simon Lewis and general manager Alec Chipman and co-owner and wife Cathy Chen. It featured upscale dining for Pan-Asian cuisine in a fusion-inspired interior. EDGEstudio from Pittsburgh's Garfield neighborhood designed the 120 seat, interior. In its short 9 months of operations, it became locally favoured and was a semi-finalist for best new restaurant for the 2009 James Beard Foundation Award. It temporarily closed April 29, 2009 and permanently closed on April 30, 2009, citing economic concerns. A pan-Asian restaurant has opened in the space. ''

'' readers voted it the 2009 "Worst Loss to the Local Dining Scene". In May 2011, Chen left Wing Lei to start Kushi Yama in

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall County ...

. Chen has repeatedly explained to various interviewers how his French influenced light Chinese plates, which require impeccable technique in the making, differ so evidently from popular Chinese take-out food.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Richard Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American people of Taiwanese descent People from the Las Vegas Valley American chefs American male chefs Chinese chefs Culinary Institute of America Hyde Park alumni