Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Martin Yan Papers
- Dates:
- circa 1960s - 2023
- Abstract:
- The Martin Yan Papers consist of 4.4TB of digital files containing photographs, videos, media clips, and slides taken as Yan traveled the world to film Yan Can Cook, Inc. television productions. The physical collection includes artifacts such as the cooking tools Yan used when he taught cooking classes at UC Davis.
- Extent:
- 4.4 Terabytes and 9 linear feet
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Martin Yan Papers, D-714, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The Martin Yan Papers consist of 4.4TB of digital files containing photographs, videos, media clips, and slides taken as Yan traveled the world to film Yan Can Cook, Inc. television productions. The physical collection includes artifacts such as the cooking tools Yan used when he taught cooking classes at UC Davis.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Martin Yan is a world-renowned celebrity chef of more than 40 years, host of the public television show "Yan Can Cook," and a UC Davis alumnus.
Born in Guangzhou, China, in 1948, Yan's earliest experiences with food were rooted in hardship. Growing up during the most turbulent years of modern Chinese history, Yan's childhood memories include famine, drought, going to bed hungry every night, and political turmoil. When Yan was 13, his mother decided to send him to work at his distant uncle's Hong Kong eatery. He finished high school in Hong Kong and moved to Canada, hoping to further his education. Soon after, he moved to Davis and enrolled at UC Davis.
Yan taught a series of beginning, intermediate, and advanced Chinese cooking classes during his time at UC Davis. In addition to teaching for the UC Davis Extension, he taught cooking classes for his fellow students at the UC Davis Coffee House (CoHo).
Yan is one of the first people of Asian descent in the United States to host a daily cooking show. Since then, Yan has filmed more than 3,500 half-hour television episodes, broadcast globally, making "Yan Can Cook" one of the longest-running food and travel television programs in the world.
Source:
Colwell, S. ( 2022 January 24). Chef Martin Yan creates legacy archive at UC Davis Library. UC Davis Library. https://library.ucdavis.edu/news/chef-martin-yan-creates-legacy-archive-at-uc-davis-library/, Accessed June 11, 2025
- Acquisition information:
- Gift of Martin and Susan Yan, 2021. Additional materials were donated in 2023.
- Processing information:
-
Vanessa Cardona Ocegueda created the collection-level finding aid. This collection is not yet processed.
- Physical location:
- Researchers should contact Archives and Special Collections to request collections, as many are stored off-site.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-09-23 13:37:01 -0700 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
This collection is not yet processed. Please contact Archives and Special Collections in advance to request access.
- Terms of access:
-
All applicable copyrights for the collection are protected under chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code. Requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Archives and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California as the owner of the physical items. It is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Martin Yan Papers, D-714, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.
- Location of this collection:
-
University of California, Davis, Special Collections, UC Davis Library100 NW QuadDavis, CA 95616-5292, US
- Contact:
- (530) 752-1621