Join us in attending Chef Katie Chin's show, Holy Shiitake: A Wokstar is Born!

Date: Saturday, May 3, 2025   
Time: 8:00 PM (1 hour show) 
Location: Whitefire Theatre, Los Angeles   
Event Link: https://whitefire.stagey.net/projects/10182

About the Show: 

Filled with pathos and humor, “Holy Shitake:  A Wok Star is Born” chronicles Chef Katie Chin’s true journey as a fish-out-of-water Chinese American girl growing up in Minneapolis, where she was raised by my mother, seamstress-turned-restaurateur Leeann Chin. A true warrior, her late mother overcame incredible obstacles and adversity having been in an arranged marriage to her emotionally abusive husband while raising 6 children making 50 cents an hour as a seamstress.  Through it all, she found solace through cooking and built a $50 million dollar Chinese restaurant empire through an extraordinary twist of fate involving 007 himself, Sean Connery.

When Katie’s life falls apart in my mid-30s after her divorce, her mother comes to her rescue through cooking instruction.  After a dream in which the Kitchen God visits her,  Katie decides to leave her career as a film marketing executive to carry her mother’s torch.  In the quiet moments alone cooking together, her mother opens up to her about her life in China; stories filled with heartache and resilience. A magical mother-daughter bond is formed and they embark on a culinary journey together appearing the Today Show, the Food Network and in their own PBS series, “Double Happiness.”   A time filled with east meets west tension and humor, Katie as the bumbling American born daughter and her mother as the tough as nails tiger mom boss.  Through it all, her wish for Katie is to fly from her Bird’s Nest Soup. 

After her mother’s death, Katie is forced to make a choice that drastically changes her life.    After her mother’s death, a pivotal turning point presents itself and Katie is forced to make a choice.  In this emotional love letter to her mother, Katie finally learns to love herself and embrace her heritage by honoring her mother’s culinary legacy.  

More About Katie Chin: 

Celebrity Chef Katie Chin is an Award-winning cookbook author, caterer and Culinary Ambassador to the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation.  After growing up working in the kitchens of her late mother Leeann Chin’s award-winning Minneapolis-area restaurants, Katie pursued a career in film and television marketing but eventually left her executive position to return to her culinary roots.

Katie co-hosted the national PBS cooking series, Double Happiness, in conjunction with her mother and together they wrote Everyday Chinese Cooking. On her own, Katie wrote 300 Best Rice Cooker Recipes and the award-winning bestsellers Everyday Thai Cooking and Everyday Chinese Cookbook:  101 Delicious Recipes from My Mother’s Kitchen. Katie’s fifth cookbook, “Katie Chin’s Global Family Cookbook” was released in June 2021.  She has been featured in many publications such as Forbes Magazine, Huffpost, O Magazine, Cooking Light, Bon Appetit, Elle, Real Simple, and Epicurious as well as The Wall Street Journal.

Her numerous appearances on national television include The Kelly Clarkson Show, Live with Kelly & Mark, The Today Show, The Real, Hallmark Channel, The Real, Cooking Channel and as a guest judge on Food Network’s Iron Chef America. She has appeared as a chef contestant on Cutthroat Kitchen, Beat Bobby Flay, Supermarket Stakeout, Battle of the Decades and most recently on Chopped.  In 2013, Katie was a featured chef at the annual Easter Egg Roll at the White House under the Obama administration.

A portion of the proceeds from this event will be donated to support AWE, thanks to the generosity of Katie Chin.

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