10/23/2023
Danny Kaye, master chef, was recognized around the world for his cooking. Kaye would conquer various regions of Chinese cooking by learning like everyone else. He read cookbooks, toured the local restaurants and studied under Johnny Kan. Kan made his name in the culinary arts in San Francisco where Kaye would visit frequently to work on the line. Kaye would eventually have a Chinese kitchen added to his home in Beverly Hills even though he had to nudge the gas company for more power to accomplish perfection in his kitchen. Kaye was the only chef outside of France to be awarded the French’s highest culinary award, the French Medal of Merit. Italian food was child’s play. He frequently, but respectfully, crashed local kitchens to the delight of the Italian hosts. He even crashed a few New Orleanian galleys when visiting friends. One day when preparing for a visit from some of the highest ranking chef’s of France, Dena Kaye asked her father was he nervous. Quickly Kaye responded, “Why? What do they know about Chinese cooking?!”
