DULUTH, Minn. (Northern News Now) – Award-winning celebrity chef and cookbook author Katie Chin will bring her one-woman show, Holy Shiitake a Wokstar Is Born, to Duluth Zeitgeist Theater on Aug. 29, with performances at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
About the show
Chin described the show as “a love letter” to her late mother, Leanne Chin, tracing her own childhood in Minneapolis in the 1970s and her mother’s rise from seamstress to restaurateur. Leanne Chin began her career earning 50 cents an hour as a seamstress before her cooking caught the attention of clients at a luncheon she hosted, which led to a catering career.
Chin said a local socialite later partnered with her mother to open a restaurant. Through a series of connections that included the owner of the Minnesota Twins and actor Sean Connery — who was in town visiting director Robert Redford during the filming of Ordinary People — Connery tasted Leanne Chin’s food at a welcome party and invested in her first restaurant.
A mother-daughter story
Beyond the entrepreneurial arc, Chin said the show explores how she and her mother reconnected later in life. After Chin had stopped cooking, her mother traveled to Los Angeles and taught her again. Through a series of dinner parties, Chin said her mother opened up about her life in China, including an arranged marriage and other obstacles she overcame.
“It’s really also a tale of resilience,” Chin said.
Chin, who is not a trained actor or playwright, said she has now performed the show more than 20 times across the country. During the performance, she cooks on stage while telling the stories.
What to expect
Chin said the show’s themes are intended to resonate broadly.
“You don’t have to be Asian American. You don’t have to be a woman to really resonate with the universal themes in my show,” she said.
Each performance will be followed by a Q&A session. Northern News Now’s Laura Lee will also be featured at the event!
Tickets are available at zeitgeistarts.com.
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