Meet the Legend

 

Master Chef Joseph Poon is known for his Asian Fusion Cuisine. He prepares fresh meals with simple elegance — and a dash of adventure. This lively and energetic Chef conducts Wok ‘N Walk Tours of Philadelphia Chinatown for his guests booking online for group tours as well as private group tours for organizations, school trips, scouts and corporate teams.  Chef has hosted group trips to China and participates in dozens of philanthropic events each year. He published the inspirational, autobiographical cookbook, Life is Short…Cooking is Fun. He can often be found giving culinary cooking and sculpture/carving demos at notable culinary institutions both nationally and internationally.

 

Chef Poon was  awarded an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, State University of New York College at Oneonta. This honorary doctorate means a lot to him. He motivates and inspires students every day to be their best and “steal his knowledge and his heart”! He wants to share his talents with young people because he knows they are the future of our world. In addition to his honorary degree, he received the Asian American Award for Outstanding Community Service and Chinese Restaurant News named his former restaurant, Joseph Poon Asian Fusion Restaurant, to the list of “Top Chinese Restaurants.”

 

His warmth and exuberance have earned him appearances on “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno, “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” and TV Food Network’s “The Best of…” A half page personality profile in The New York Times, said “In the last three decades, Joseph Poon has risen from impoverished immigrant to national culinary fame, known for his Asian fusion fare, his ability to carve bulbous watermelons and pumpkins into delicate swans, and his role in opening the center of the region’s Asian community to the outside world.” And an article in The James Beard Foundation newsletter stated, “The story of how Philadelphia Chef Joseph Poon got to where he is today could be the script of a Hollywood movie.”

 

Background

Chef Poon’s training began when he was a teenager working in airline food service in Hong Kong. He was fascinated by the chef’s carved fruit and vegetable centerpieces and sculptures. When the chef refused Poon’s request for a lesson, Poon purchased several hundred potatoes and practiced until he mastered the skill himself. The art has become one of his trademarks. Poon showed that same tenacity when he arrived in Philadelphia with $8 in his pocket and a limited knowledge of English. He worked as a dishwasher, then waiter, in construction and in a fortune cookie factory – holding as many as three jobs at a time.

 

With accumulated savings and a scholarship from The Episcopal Church, Joe entered SUNY at Oneonta. He majored in nutrition and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1978.

 

He followed up his degree at Oneonta with a four-month intensive program at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) where he studied international cuisine. He returns to the CIA periodically to hone his skills.

 

His first entrepreneurial venture was Sang Kee Restaurant, which he opened in 1979 and is still in existence under different ownership. Sang Kee, the city’s first duck house, paved the way for Joe’s future success. His most formative venture, the highly successful Joe’s Peking Duck House, opened in 1984 (just one year after Joe received his green card) and was named one of America’s top 14 Cantonese restaurants by USA Today in 1989. Called the Duck Master by many, Chef Poon’s Peking style duck developed a dedicated following in the greater Philadelphia area. Guests would line up outside his restaurant waiting for a chance to enjoy his secret recipe. Following the success of the first Joe’s Peking Duck House, a second location was opened in Southern New Jersey.

 

Chef Poon sold these two businesses in order to accept an executive position as managing chef for China Coast Restaurants, a subsidiary of Darden and a sister company of Red Lobster and Olive Garden. After 6 months in their employ, Poon was given responsibility as product manager for the 52 restaurants. He created Tour of China recipes for China Coast, which were rolled out to the entire chain. Poon has also worked as a consultant for Disney World Dolphin Hotel and 4 star Italian restaurants in Portland, Maine, and Boston, prior to opening Joseph Poon Asian Fusion Restaurant in 1997, Chef Kitchen in 2005, and Joe’s Peking Duck, Original 1984 in 2008.

 

These walk-in restaurants are now closed for walk-in dining while Chef Poon continues his famous Wok N’ Walk Tours around Chinatown with groups meeting at the Chinese Friendship Gate at 10th and Arch Streets.