Appetites: The legacy of Leeann Chin is celebrated in daughter’s one-woman show
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Since the 1980s, Leeann Chin has been a go-to for Chinese takeout in Minnesota. Lemon chicken and cream cheese wontons — the latter of which the real-life Leeann Chin reportedly invented — are popular menu items at quick service locations across Minnesota. But the relaxed vibe of Leeann Chin hasn’t always been the atmosphere in which diners enjoyed their Chinese cuisine.
“The first three restaurants were quite elegant, and they were sit-down restaurants,” said chef Katie Chin, daughter of restaurateur Leeann Chin. Growing up in Minnesota, Katie recalls her mother’s rise to local celebrity status and remembers when her mom rubbed shoulders with other Minnesota royalty.
“She also threw a fundraising concert with Prince for the local PBS station,” Katie said, “But she didn’t even really know who he was, so I remember she came home, and she goes ‘that Prince can really play the guitar!”
That story, and others like it, are captured in Katie’s one-woman show “Holy Shiitake: A Wok Star is Born.” She has performed it across the country, including in Honolulu and Los Angeles. This week, she brought the play to her hometown of Minneapolis.
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“It traces our immigrant story,” said Katie, describing it as a love letter to her mother. “It also explores my mother’s incredible trajectory as an entrepreneur, going from a seamstress making 50 cents an hour to building a restaurant empire through a remarkable twist of fate involving Sean Connery.”
In the show, Katie plays multiple characters, including her mother and Sir Sean — Scottish dialect and all. The show also features Shakespeare, Rodgers and Hammerstein music and “Brady Bunch” references. It’s told through humorous moments, but also emotional ones, like when Katie explains the death of her sibling to suicide.
The emotional heart of the show, however, is Katie’s relationship with her mother and how cooking brought them together. Growing up in Minneapolis, Katie felt cultural shame about being Chinese American, constantly cooking and eating Chinese food. In the show, she conjures up her school-age bullies who called her slurs, and a drunk Norwegian Santa Claus who called her a “China Doll” at a Christmas party.
“I grew up with a lot of cultural shame, because there were so few Asian Americans at the time,” Katie said.
It wasn’t until years later, while working as an executive in Hollywood, that she rekindled her relationship with her mom and heritage.
“One day, I had completely forgotten how to cook, and I was doing a dinner party for some colleagues,” Katie said.
“I kept calling my mom and asking her questions, and she was like, ‘This is ridiculous!’ So she got on a plane with frozen lemon chicken. She showed up at my doorstep. She cooked the entire meal, but she let everyone think that I had cooked it, because she was just that kind of mom.”
This inspired Katie to leave the entertainment industry for a career in the culinary arts.
“My mother truly came to my rescue and healed me through cooking instruction,” she said.
Leeann Chin’s legacy had a lasting impact on many people. When she died in 2010, food writer and Chef Andrew Zimmern posited that Leeann Chin helped usher in a new era of Chinese food.
“She was a really a pioneer pursuing honest and authentic flavors before the big food trend hit the Twin Cities,” Zimmern told MPR News in 2010.
According to Katie, a lot of immigrants in the ‘60s and ‘70s felt like they had to market their food to the palates of white people — and her mom didn’t want to compromise.
“It’s truly remarkable the imprint and the effect and impact she had on Asian American cuisine in the Midwest,” Katie said.
She’ll be performing her one-woman show in connection with “Stories behind the Menu,” organized by Chaz Sandifer. It’s a series of culinary events where chefs of color share their food and culture to bridge the gap in understanding.
“Stories and food go together, and especially in Asian culture, it’s a way to connect the family and show love for one another,” Katie Chin said.
As she continues to perform the show across the country, Katie said that the number one thing people tell her after the show is that they want to hug their mom.
“I hope that everyone [who] sees the show will think of their mom, think of their daughter and think about what it means to be an immigrant in this country,” she said.
The event, featuring a five-course meal cooked by Katie Chin, takes place April 24.