360 Chef Martin Yan, it is so great to have you on Business Life.

360 Thanks for joining me.

Martin Yan: My pleasure.

Kristi K: It has been 42 years since you've been on PBS, one of the longest running cooking shows in the history of television before the Food Network, before all of the other kind of online cooking shows.

What is the secret to your longevity?

Martin Yan: The secret is love and passion of food.

Before I was born, my father had a restaurant in Guangzhou, China, and a family star restaurant about 60 seats after school.

I When we were little kid, we always kept back to go and hang around the restaurant.

So I have the taste.

I know what soy sauce is.

And my mother actually ran the grocery store.

So when I was growing up, I already know dark soy sauce like soy sauce and hoisin.

So chili sauce and all kind of five spice powder.

So I have a feel of it.

So when I grew up, I said food is actually a quite interesting career to pursue.

Throughout the last 20, 30 years, I travel about 250 to 275 days a year filming the Yank and Cook Show all over the world.

And I had an opportunity to to learn, to work, to cope with home chef people on the street, selling street food.

Food is about sharing.

If you cook for yourself, you never enjoyed it as much as you share with people.

That's what my mom told me.

You are Julia Child told me.

Sharing and nurturing the next generation of Chef.

Kristi K: Talking about Julia Child.

You knew her from way back.

Martin Yan: Way back.

Kristi K: Yeah.

Martin Yan: Because the reason why getting on television is is very, very interesting story.

When I was in college, I would cook dinner with my roommate and around the same time, that breakfast show and Julie's show, I always watch and I said both so educational.

They also so entertaining.

I told my roommate, say one day, hopefully I'll be on television.

Kristi K: Well, you are a magician in the kitchen.

You get all Rideable and Yan can cook.

So you had I don't know if I can, though.

I'm wondering about that some days.

Martin Yan: Well, the director asked me, how would you like to call your show?

And I said, You know, every single dish that I prepare on television, I want to make sure this particular dish people can prepare at home.

So that means if I can cook it, you can cook it so the yang can cook, so can you.

Kristi K: I love it.

What spices do you typically use?

Is there such a thing as kind of like your go to list of spices?

Martin Yan: I love ginger not only as a spice aromatic, but Ginger has a lot of medicinal benefit and you can use Ginger to do all kinds of dishes as aromatic.

So ginger and garlic is universal, particularly garlic.

Garlic is also very healthy.

Besides being aromatic.

Kristi K: Are you always able to just free flow all of the meals and the recipes that you create?

Martin Yan: Well, as a chef, as a human being, when you're hungry, you learn to be creative.

You got to have to come up with something to nourish you.

I always like to cook with the season in my backyard for a lot of herbs Thai basil, regular basil.

I have six different kind of mint.

I'm lemongrass, careful.

I'm Lee.

I can all kind of stuff.

I grow cherry tomato and a long beans and Percy melon and bitter melon.

So eat away to me as a chef, we never really ran out of recipe because I got inspiration from so many people.

So every day I might do something totally different.

Then I may not repeat the next day or the next week or the next month.

Kristi K: But now your work, your culinary expertise has grown so significantly, whether it's products and cookbooks traveling around the globe.

Tell us about your life and your lifestyle.

Martin Yan: Well, many other celebrity, do you have a product line?

I really don't have a product line.

I just have cookbooks and I have a knife that I have designed that I can break down a chicken in 18 seconds.

I can cook it without looking at the reasons instinct.

So I always have to practice here.

It's a knife that I have design.

You see that this is a triple rivet full tank and then also have a little curvature here.

The reason why you have this curvature is when you haunted the night, it doesn't hurt you.

A sharp knife is a safe.

Nice.

You got to maintain your knife.

So when the knife is dull, you cut yourself.

Kristi K: When you are in business life.

360.

We do something called Quick Hits, which is Rapidfire questions where our audience gets to know you better and our audience, the PBS audience has clearly been watching you for years, but we have some questions for you that are a little bit different and unique.

Are you ready for this?

Martin Yan: Okay, I'm always ready.

Kristi K: The city where you make your home, San Francisco.

What is one food that you aren't a fan of eating?

Martin Yan: I love everything except Dorian during the king of food.

It smells like hell and it tastes like heaven.

Kristi K: If you could travel to one global city, which city would it be?

And why?

Martin Yan: For Orange?

Because I love the architecture, the food.

I love the people and the lifestyle there.

It's beautiful city.

Everywhere you turn around is 2000.

3000 is.

Oh.

Kristi K: Well, speaking of that, what type of cuisine, aside from Asian do you love?

Martin Yan: I love Sushi.

Kristi K: Who is the most famous and iconic person that you've ever cooked for?

Martin Yan: I cook for Jane Fonda.

I work with Jack the Pan.

I work with a lot of people.

And I think to me, they're all my idol.

Kristi K: Have you ever been intimidated by someone you've had to cook for?

Martin Yan: No, because I have a sharp knife.

Nobody can intimidate me.

Kristi K: Great answer.

So tell us a little more about where you studied cooking and who your biggest influence was.

Martin Yan: My most important influencer is my mother.

When I was growing up, she always are able to turn something simple into a delicious dish and with very little money.

And I always, always use the same philosophy.

You don't need expensive ingredients.

You don't need to spend a lot of time as long as you can come up with something nourishing and delicious.

And that is a master.

Kristi K: What is your favorite recipe to go to in a pinch?

Martin Yan: I love Clipper cooking because when you finish it, the pot is still hot.

They keep everything warm when hot food should be served hot all the time.

Kristi K: Now, as I said earlier, we think we know you pretty well from watching you on PBS all these years.

But what is one thing we do not know about you that we might be interested in hearing.

Martin Yan: In front of the camera?

I talk a lot.

I when I'm not facing a camera at home, I don't talk because I spend most of my time in the backyard is the only time that I can really calm down.

And also when I look at a camera, I always joke with people, so get me excited.

Kristi K: Oh, you have had such a purposeful life in the world of cooking and cuisine.

How do you define success?

Martin Yan: There's no standard of success.

There's no judgment of success.

If if you feel good about what you're doing and you are happy with your life to meet that as a chef, I feel very successful because I feel lucky.

I feel fortunate that I have the opportunity to reach millions of people with what I love.

What I'm passionate about is about food and cooking.

Kristi K: Chef Yan, thank you so much for being a part of business life.

360.

We've loved having you here and thanks for all you've done to inspire us through the years.

Martin Yan: I hope that I'm looking forward to coming back again.

Kristi K: Great.

We'll have you back any time.

Thank you.