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"During an apprenticeship under a chef named Tony (the owner of First Emperor Chinese Restaurant in Richardson, Texas, outside of Dallas), I learned that Tony ran an immensely intricate American-Chinese operation with a menu of more than 300 dishes and could sometimes serve 500 people in a day all by himself; he was extremely particular—initially only letting Chiou cut vegetables—and even paid his pupil with pairs of shoes because they shared the same size, lessons in perfectionism that Chiou studied closely and still regards with a mix of respect and bashfulness." - Gabe Hiatt