Las Vegas Weekly

January 13, 2009 · 11:28 AM

Martin Yan wins Lifetime Achievement Award and plans Las Vegas restaurant

By Robin Leach

Chef Martin Yan and Mayor Oscar Goodman.

Photo: TVT

After producing 30 cookbooks and hosting more than 3,000 cooking shows worldwide, celebrity chef Martin Yan has been given the highest honor of Lifetime Achievement Award. When Martin attended the 5th Annual Top 100 Chinese Restaurants USA Awards show and conference at The Rio, he told me that he would be opening his first Asian restaurant here in Las Vegas later this year at the new Tivoli Village at Queensridge in Summerlin.

I’ve known the gregarious and effervescent Master Chef since back in my former Food Network days. In addition to being chef, author and TV personality, Martin is a highly respected food consultant and an instructor for other budding kitchen stars. He owns the Yan Can and SensAsian restaurants at his San Francisco headquarters. Ever since age 13, when his mother operated a grocery store and his father ran a restaurant in Guangzhou, China, the culinary world has been Martin’s passion. His classic TV series Yan Can Cook began in 1978 (that’s 31 years ago!) with daily broadcasts, and to this day airs in more than 50 countries.

Our Merry Mayor of Mirth Oscar Goodman was on hand for the ceremony sponsored by the Chinese Restaurant News, which represents Chinese restaurants throughout America. Both Oscar and I were amazed by the display of ancient fruit and vegetable carving art. Chefs Moon Sari and Jimmy Zhang excelled with the artistic creations. They sculpted food into fairy tale scenes. They transformed carrots into mice, taro roots into birds and a sweet potato into a stallion.

More than 500 Chinese restaurateurs from all over the United States turned up for the presentations. This year’s top-ranked 100 winners were recognized out of nearly 44,000 Chinese restaurants across America. They were judged on regional cuisines, Asian fusion, decor, healthy menus and rising star chefs. The No. 1 winner was Koi Palace in Daly City, Calif. Las Vegas winners were Wing Lei at the Wynn for Overall Excellence and Best Local Favorite, and The Red 8 bistro, also at the Wynn, for Asian Fusion.

Martin’s Lifetime Achievement Award was in recognition of his pioneering spirit and inventiveness as an outstanding individual in improving the Chinese restaurant industry and simultaneously inspiring others.

Photo: TVT

Mayor Oscar Goodman and Master Chef Martin Yan at the Top 100 Chinese Restaurants Awards at The Rio in 2009.

“To be recognized by such a distinguished panel is indeed a great honor,” said Martin, who then joked, “I just don’t know about the lifetime part. Does this mean I have to retire now? Or maybe this inspires me to work even harder to get a head start on the next lifetime award.”

He also told me: “There is no real celebrity Chinese chef in Las Vegas, so that explains why I am now opening up here. There are now 44,000 Chinese restaurants in the United States, and the number keeps growing. People realize that all these years, we have been serving up the best diet of them all. Our emphasis has always been based on fresh fish and seasonal organic vegetables, so along with brown rice, it is very healthy.”

Martin owns and operates Chinese cooking schools in Hong Kong and China, where he is located next to a zoo that proudly features 25 white tigers and 10 pandas.

“That is something really unbelievable to see -- you have to come because it is unlike anything else in the world. When we open here in Vegas, we will award a trip to the school and the zoo as a prize!”

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