Chef Martin Yan and wife, Susan, donate archive to UC Davis

World-renowned chef Martin Yan, of the pioneering TV show Yan Can Cook, and his wife, Susan, have donated a collection that includes nearly 3,000 cookbooks to UC Davis Archives and Special Collections. The Yans have also gifted photographs, videos, slides, awards, and Martin’s first wok to the library. Both are graduates of the school and chose the institution for its reputation in the food sciences and having what many scholars consider the world’s preeminent wine library. MacKenzie Smith, university librarian and vice provost of digital scholarship, noted that Yan’s donation “provides valuable insight into an important era of Asian cultural and culinary history” and his story is an important part of the history of the Northern California food movement and cultural diversity in America.

UC Davis, Jan. 24; American Libraries feature, Mar./Apr. 2017

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