If you grew up in the ’80s or ’90s, there’s a good chance you watched Fu Pei Mei’s cooking show on RPN 9 on Sunday morning. In the cooking show, she shared her countless recipes on Chinese cuisine, helping raise generations of home cooks not only in her homeland Taiwan, but also around the world where her show was a staple.

From 1962 to 2002, Fu Pei Mei showcased her mastery of Chinese culinary arts through her cooking programs on Taiwanese and Japanese television networks. She cooked over 4,000 dishes in her shows, making her one of the most prolific celebrity chefs in the world. Her program was released around the world, including in the U.S. and the Philippines.

She also ran a cooking school and authored over 30 cookbooks, cementing her authority on Chinese cooking. Dubbed “Julia Child of Taiwan,” Fu Pei Mei's warm demeanor and ability to demystify complex cooking techniques endeared her to millions of viewers, making her a household name in Taiwan and beyond.Fu Pei Mei worked on her cooking show for most of her life. She died in 2004, two years after her last episode aired in 2002.
Fu Pei Mei's efforts to document and standardize traditional recipes preserved the culinary heritage for future generations. She recognized the need to preserve traditional recipes and culinary techniques, which were at risk of being lost in a rapidly modernizing world. Among her cookbooks, the acclaimed "Fu Pei Mei's Chinese Cooking" series provided detailed instructions and explanations of her most famous recipes. These books remain invaluable resources for both aspiring chefs and home cooks, ensuring the continuity of authentic Chinese cooking.
On October 1, 2015, Google honored Fu pei Mei with a Google Doodle, depicting the chef in her iconic kitchen:

“Google Doodle recognizes Pei Mei Fu on what would have been her 84th birthday. Doodler Olivia When's illustration honors Fu, and specifically her notable TV cooking career, with a Doodle that pays homage to Fu’s set. The two dishes captured in the Doodle were also thoughtfully chosen. One is fried prawn slices with sour sauce, the other Cheng Family meat dish, both two of Fu’s best-known recipes,” wrote Google.
In 2017, a miniseries titled What She Put on the Table was released in Taiwan. It tells the story of Fu Pei Mei’s life. In Episode 1, Fu Pei Mei flees the war in Dalian and arrives in Taiwan. She eventually gets married, but she was not used to doing household chores, and her cooking skills were horrible. In Episode 4, Fu Pei Mei overhears someone complaining about her cooking skills, so she set her mind to learn to cook well. Her grandmother in-law’s strict training pushed her to her limits. Fu Pei Mei studies various Chinese cuisines, and her cooking soon becomes well-known. A TV Station invites her to be on a show, becoming the catalyst that would change her life forever.
What She Put on the Table is available on Netflix and has six episodes running an hour and 20 minutes each.
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