Jen Lin-Liu was born in Chicago and grew up in Southern California. She is the author of Serve the People: A Stir-Fried Journey Through China, On the Noodle Road: From Beijing to Rome with Love and Pasta, and the forthcoming The Notorious Mrs. Chao. She founded acclaimed Beijing cooking school Black Sesame Kitchen and is currently the events director at Chang Chang, a Chinese restaurant by Peter Chang in Dupont Circle.