Now you can have the great
taste of Joyce Chen Peking Ravioli right in your own kitchen, based on her original personal recipe.
Why are they called Peking Ravioli?
In 1958, when Joyce Chen opened her Chinese restaurant in Cambridge Massachusetts, she was one of the first in America
to serve authentic Chinese Dumpling (Potstickers). She named them Peking Ravioli so that the American public could relate
them to the well known Italian Ravioli. The dish became a hit and even to this day many Chinese restaurants in New England
list them as Peking Ravioli on their menus.
How it all began, the Joyce Chen’s story:
In 1949 Joyce Chen came to America from Shanghai, China and settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts. On one occasion, as
she and her family adjusted to their new way of life, she volunteered to donate some food to her children’s school fair.
Cooking had always been her first love and she often dazzled her friends at home with her delicious and unique dishes.
For this particular event, she worked all night and prepared cookies shaped like pumpkins and her own Chinese egg rolls.
After delivering the items to school she went back home to clean up. When she returned, she saw her pumpkin cookies still
on the bake sale table, but no egg rolls. She thought perhaps no one liked them and that maybe they were too embarrassed to
put them out until one of the school mothers rushed up to her explaining that the egg rolls were so popular that they had
sold out immediately. Delighted and relieved, Joyce went straight back home and prepared more.
This is when she discovered the growing interest in Chinese food and she soon began teaching lessons at her home and,
later, at Cambridge’s and Boston’s Adult Education Centers. With the encouragement of friends and neighbors, she
opened The Joyce Chen Restaurant in 1958. She also wrote her first Joyce Chen Cook Book in 1964 and in 1968 starred in her
own national televised PBS cooking series called “Joyce Chen Cooks”. In the 70’s, she introduced her
own line of Chinese cookware which is found in many kitchenware shops.
In 1994 Joyce Chen passed away. In 1998, she was inducted into the James Beard Foundation Hall of Fame. That same year
the restaurant closed. Now, after countless requests from loyal customers her youngest son Stephen has brought her Peking
Ravioli back for everyone to enjoy.
