Martin Yan is the Chinese-American chef and television personality behind Yan Can Cook, the PBS cooking programme that aired continuously from 1982 to 2014 across more than 3,500 episodes and introduced generations of American viewers to Chinese home cooking. Born 22 December 1948 in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China, Yan trained at the Overseas Institute of Cookery in Hong Kong and holds a master’s degree in food science from the University of California, Davis. He has written more than 30 cookbooks and continues to appear on cooking television and at food-festival events across the United States and internationally as of 2026.
Yan launched Yan Can Cook with On Lok as a virtual live cooking series in 2022, producing free online cooking classes focused on healthy traditional Chinese recipes and streaming across Eventbrite and YouTube. Upcoming sessions are scheduled for January, March and April 2026. In May and June 2026 Yan hosts a seven-night Alaska Culinary Cruise with Oceania Cruises, and he is a special guest at the World Chefs Championship 2026 in Malaysia. At 77 years old he remains one of the most recognised Chinese-American chef figures on television internationally and one of the defining introducers of Chinese cuisine to American and English-speaking audiences.
TL;DR
- Chinese-American chef born 22 December 1948 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
- Trained at the Overseas Institute of Cookery in Hong Kong; master’s in food science from UC Davis
- Yan Can Cook aired on PBS 1982-2014 across 3,500+ episodes
- Author of 30+ cookbooks including The Joy of Wokking and Martin Yan’s China
- 2022-present: Yan Can Cook with On Lok virtual cooking series
- 2026: Alaska Culinary Cruise May/June; World Chefs Championship 2026 Malaysia special guest
Martin Yan key facts
| Born | 22 December 1948, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China |
| Nationality | American (Chinese-American; Hong Kong and US training) |
| Training | Overseas Institute of Cookery (Hong Kong); master’s in food science, UC Davis |
| Defining programme | Yan Can Cook on PBS 1982-2014 (3,500+ episodes across 32 seasons) |
| Current projects | Yan Can Cook with On Lok virtual series; live events; cookbook publishing |
| Cookbooks | More than 30, including The Joy of Wokking, Martin Yan’s China, Martin Yan’s Culinary Journey Through China |
| 2026 | Alaska Culinary Cruise May/June 2026; World Chefs Championship 2026 Malaysia special guest |
Early life and training of Martin Yan
Yan was born on 22 December 1948 in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province in southern China. His mother ran a small food stall, and his father died when Martin was very young. The Guangzhou and Cantonese culinary traditions of his childhood, built around fresh vegetables, seafood, roasted meats and the distinctive Cantonese approach to wok cookery, would shape his entire later career. As a teenager in the mid-1960s Yan moved to Hong Kong, which at that time was one of the major centres of Chinese restaurant cookery globally.
In Hong Kong, Yan worked at his uncle’s Chinese restaurant from age 13 before entering the Overseas Institute of Cookery, a prominent Hong Kong culinary school, where he trained in Cantonese and broader Chinese cookery techniques. He then moved to Canada in 1968 and to the United States shortly after, enrolling at the University of California, Davis, where he completed a master’s degree in food science. The food-science training is unusual among celebrity chefs and shaped Yan’s later approach to television cooking, which has always emphasised explanation of technique and ingredient science alongside recipe demonstration.
In the 1970s Yan hosted a local Calgary cooking programme, Yan Can Cook, that launched his television career. In 1982 the programme moved to PBS in the United States and began national distribution, making Yan one of the first Asian-American cooking-show hosts on American public television. The programme would run continuously on PBS for 32 years through 2014, across more than 3,500 episodes and 32 seasons, and is among the longest-running cooking programmes in American television history.
Martin Yan career timeline
- 22 December 1948: Born in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
- Early 1960s: Moves to Hong Kong; begins working at uncle’s Chinese restaurant from age 13
- Mid-1960s: Trains at the Overseas Institute of Cookery in Hong Kong
- 1968: Moves to Canada
- Early 1970s: Moves to the United States; master’s degree in food science from UC Davis
- Late 1970s: Hosts Yan Can Cook on Calgary local television
- 1982: Yan Can Cook launches nationally on PBS in the United States
- 1986: Publishes The Joy of Wokking, one of his best-known cookbooks
- 1994: Yan Can Cook wins the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Service Show
- 1997: Publishes Martin Yan’s Culinary Journey Through China
- 2000: Publishes Martin Yan’s Feast (PBS companion cookbook)
- 2014: Yan Can Cook ends its 32-season PBS run after 3,500+ episodes
- 2015: Publishes Martin Yan’s Asia (television companion)
- 2017: Martin Yan Quick and Easy premieres on PBS
- 2019: Opens M.Y. China at Westfield San Francisco Centre
- 2020: M.Y. China closes during the COVID pandemic
- 2022: Launches Yan Can Cook with On Lok virtual cooking series
- 2024: Continues virtual cooking classes and food-festival appearances
- July 2025: Interview with V-On Air in Malaysia at Resorts World Genting
- May-June 2026: Seven-night Alaska Culinary Cruise with Oceania Cruises
- 2026: Special guest at the World Chefs Championship 2026 in Malaysia; virtual classes with On Lok continue (January, March, April 2026)
Martin Yan signature style: Cantonese technique through television
Yan’s central argument, developed over 32 years on PBS from 1982 to 2014, is that Chinese home cooking, especially Cantonese regional cookery, is approachable, technique-driven, and welcoming to American home cooks. The Yan Can Cook programme built on this argument episode by episode across 3,500+ sessions: a single wok, a simple ingredient list, a demonstration of technique (knife work, wok seasoning, stir-frying, steaming), and a finished dish that could be cooked at home. The approach introduced a generation of American viewers to Chinese cooking and is one of the most sustained cultural-ambassador projects in American food television.
The second defining element is the signature Yan knife technique, particularly his famed chicken-in-18-seconds cutting demonstration. Yan has demonstrated rapid knife work as a central visual element of his television programme for decades, and the knife demonstration has become one of the signature set pieces of American food television. Beyond the showmanship, the knife work reflects the technical grounding he received at the Overseas Institute of Cookery in Hong Kong.
The third pillar is the cookbook publishing output. Yan has written more than 30 cookbooks across his career, most tied to specific PBS programmes. The publishing output is one of the largest by any American cooking-show host of the past four decades and has distributed Chinese home cooking through American bookshops and libraries at scale. Yan sits alongside peers including Ming Tsai (Simply Ming) and Masaharu Morimoto (Iron Chef America) as part of the Asian-American television-chef cohort.
Notable Martin Yan dishes and work
Several Yan demonstrations have become reference points in American Chinese cooking education. The wok-fried beef with broccoli, the Cantonese roast duck with five-spice marinade, the classic Yangzhou fried rice, and the kung pao chicken are the signature Yan Can Cook repeat dishes across the 32-season PBS run. The chicken-in-18-seconds knife demonstration, featured repeatedly on Yan Can Cook, remains one of the most-cited set pieces in American food television. Yan cookbooks include The Joy of Wokking (1986), Martin Yan’s Culinary Journey Through China (1997), Martin Yan’s Feast (2000), Martin Yan’s Asia (2015), and more than 25 additional titles. His work with Jacques Pepin on PBS cooking collaborations extended the public-television chef tradition across multiple traditions.
Martin Yan awards and recognition
- 1982: Yan Can Cook launches nationally on PBS
- 1986: Publishes The Joy of Wokking
- 1994: Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Service Show for Yan Can Cook
- 2000: James Beard Foundation Cookbook Hall of Fame induction
- 2003: UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador
- 2014: Yan Can Cook ends PBS run after 32 seasons and 3,500+ episodes
- 2017: Martin Yan Quick and Easy premieres on PBS
- 2019: Opens M.Y. China at Westfield San Francisco Centre
- 2022: Launches Yan Can Cook with On Lok virtual cooking series
- July 2025: Featured interview at Resorts World Genting (V-On Air)
- May-June 2026: Alaska Culinary Cruise with Oceania Cruises
- 2026: Special guest at the World Chefs Championship 2026 in Malaysia
Martin Yan impact on Chinese cooking in America
Yan’s most concrete contribution is the 32-year continuous run of Yan Can Cook on PBS from 1982 to 2014. Across 3,500+ episodes and 32 seasons, Yan Can Cook is one of the longest-running cooking programmes in American television history. The programme introduced generations of American viewers to Chinese home cooking, particularly the Cantonese regional tradition, and is frequently cited as a formative influence by contemporary Asian-American chefs who grew up watching it.
The second contribution is the 30+ cookbook output over more than four decades. The cookbook library, most published as companions to specific PBS programmes, has distributed Chinese home cooking across American bookshops and libraries at unusual scale. The Joy of Wokking (1986), Martin Yan’s Culinary Journey Through China (1997) and Martin Yan’s Feast (2000) are among the most widely-held Chinese cooking titles in American public libraries.
The third contribution is the cultural-ambassador role for Chinese cuisine. Yan was named a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador in 2003 in recognition of his work presenting Chinese cooking to international audiences, and he continues the ambassador role through the Yan Can Cook with On Lok virtual series and the 2026 World Chefs Championship appearance in Malaysia. Within the Asian-American television-chef cohort he sits alongside Ming Tsai (Simply Ming) and Masaharu Morimoto as one of the defining figures, though the Yan Can Cook 32-year run predates and sets the model for both.
Martin Yan FAQ
How long did Yan Can Cook run?
32 years, from 1982 to 2014 on PBS in the United States, across more than 3,500 episodes and 32 seasons. Yan Can Cook is among the longest-running cooking programmes in American television history. A follow-up programme, Martin Yan Quick and Easy, premiered on PBS in 2017.
Where is Martin Yan from?
Yan was born on 22 December 1948 in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China. He trained at his uncle’s restaurant and the Overseas Institute of Cookery in Hong Kong before moving to Canada in 1968 and later to the United States, where he completed a master’s degree in food science at the University of California, Davis.
What is Yan Can Cook with On Lok?
A virtual live cooking series Yan launched in 2022 with the On Lok senior-services non-profit in San Francisco. The series produces free online cooking classes focused on healthy traditional Chinese recipes and streams across Eventbrite and YouTube. Scheduled sessions continue through January, March and April 2026.
What is happening in 2026?
Two major 2026 events: a seven-night Alaska Culinary Cruise with Oceania Cruises in May and June 2026, and a special-guest appearance at the World Chefs Championship 2026 in Malaysia. The virtual Yan Can Cook with On Lok series continues with scheduled classes in January, March and April 2026.
What is the famous chicken-in-18-seconds demonstration?
A signature Yan knife-work demonstration repeated across multiple Yan Can Cook episodes: butchering and cutting a whole chicken into serving pieces in approximately 18 seconds. The demonstration became one of the most-cited set pieces in American food television and reflects the knife-technique grounding Yan received at the Overseas Institute of Cookery in Hong Kong.
What is next for Martin Yan
The Yan Can Cook with On Lok virtual cooking series continues through 2026, the May-June 2026 Alaska Culinary Cruise with Oceania Cruises is scheduled, and the World Chefs Championship 2026 in Malaysia appearance is confirmed. His public Instagram (@chefmartinyan) is the best source for current updates.
