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Biography
Helen is a first generation Chinese immigrant who originated in Guangzhou China. Helen is one of the main owners of Jim’s Chinese restaurant in Seaside, CA along with her husband. Helen specializes in cooking authentic Chinese food based on her cultural background and has continuously worked in the food industry for over 20 years. She begun working on restaurants in San Francisco, CA but eventually opened up her own restaurant in Seaside and has kept a steady amount of loyal clientele ever since.
Summary of Transcript
(00:00:00) Helen gives a brief introduction regarding the restaurant’s background, her motive for opening her own restaurant, and her background in the food industry. She goes in depth about her favorite dishes and the most popular dishes amongst her customers. In addition, she describes the benefits of healthy cooking and how she incorporates healthy eating within the restaurant’s dishes. (00:04:06) Helen discusses the COVID pandemic and how it affected her restaurant. She goes on to discuss the amount of loyal customers and how she gained more attention to her business through the newspaper. (00:09:20) Helen discusses her previous restaurant experience and how she has adapted that to her current restaurant with the busy lunch and dinner rushes. (00:013:02-22:00) Helen describes the origin of the cuisine and how it represents her home back in China with various cultural dishes that are from her family’s home in Guangxhou. She goes on to discuss more about the preparation of the food, the tools used for cooking, and the types of dishes.
Interview Date
5-7-2022
Interviewer
Lucas Bugarin; Jasmine Venegas
Recommended Citation
Bugarin, Lucas and Venegas, Jasmine, "Interview with Helen (Jim’s Chinese Restaurant)" (2022). Pacific Food Empires. 18.
https://digitalcommons.csumb.edu/asia-pacific-foodways_interviews/18
