An A-Z of Chinese Food (Recipes Not Included): A delectable collection that serves up Chinese flavour beyond its taste

SHORTLISTED FOR THE GUILD OF FOOD WRITERS AWARD 2026

'A series of intelligent and fiery essays' The Sunday Times
'A landmark in British food writing' Jonathan Nunn
'Makes you laugh, think, and get a little angry' iPaper

'I started stitching together my story through a different, universal language: food.'

An A-Z of Chinese Food (Recipes Not Included) is not a recipe book, but a deliberate 'anti-glossary' - a delectable edible anthology that serves up Chinese flavour beyond just its taste.

Jenny Lau always found herself sitting between cultures, connected to both east and west. Hungry to understand herself, she threw herself into researching the Chinese food of her heritage. The result is An A-Z of Chinese Food - a surprising, unputdownable and deliciously enriching anthology that uses food to explore who we are and how we relate to the world.

From A is for Authentic, breaking down our assumptions of who 'owns' what cuisine, to R is for Rice Cooker, a humorous entry from the point of view a hard-working kitchen appliance that has seen a family through its ups and downs, An A-Z of Chinese Food will change the way you think about, see, and eat, food.

'Lau's writing makes you laugh, think, and get a little angry - sometimes all at once. She tackles serious topics such as cultural appropriation, colonisation, racism and fetishisation in Chinese food with a lightness that never undermines their gravity' ANGELA HUI for iPaper

'I feel seen... I feel called out... I feel educated... I feel comforted and satiated. This is the book I needed growing up. Everyone should read this book!' JENNIFER LI, @bookmarkonthewall, book blogger

'A worthwhile and thoughtful corrective to many of the myths and over-simplifications about Chinese food in the West. Lau poses some great questions, which stayed with me long after I'd finished reading' BEE WILSON for The Sunday Times

'Using the universal language of food, Lau rips through an astonishing list of subjects with a uniquely original style. A must-read for lovers of food yes, but also lovers of exciting, daring writing' FOYLES Booksellers

'A groundbreaking rhapsody of a book, that brings something brand new to the canon of diasporic food writing. An A-Z that shines completely new light on Chinese culinary heritage, with an immediacy and spirited reverence that is a joy to read. Jenny Lau is a compelling and expressive storyteller: intricately weaving personal memoir, extensively researched cultural history and satirical humour with commanding eloquence. An instant classic from an essential new voice.' GURDEEP LOYAL, food & travel writer

'An A-Z of Chinese Food is a landmark in British food writing, somewhere between a book, a magazine, and a treatise, but completely its own thing. Jenny has the rare ability to dissect unwieldy matters of identity, race and culture with the lightness of touch that all serious topics need, combatting preconceived notions about Chinese cuisine with immaculate research and subversive humour. This book is a tonic to the mainstream of food writing' JONATHAN NUNN

'A leading light in the British Chinese community' FUCHSIA DUNLOP

Jenny Lau is the author of An A-Z of Chinese Food (Recipes Not Included), an exploration of food, language, identity and the Chinese diaspora, featured in Observer Food Monthly, The Sunday Times, AnOther and iPaper. She is the founder of Celestial Peach, a multidisciplinary platform established in 2018 to tell and connect stories of the Chinese diaspora through food, writing and community-led work. Through her events, writing and activism, Jenny has been featured by Gastro Obscura, It's Nice That and Monocle. She has been listed three times as one of Code Hospitality's 100 Most Influential Women in Hospitality.


Her food and culture writing has been published by Vittles and the South China Morning Post, and her chapter 'The Community Centre' appears in London Feeds Itself, the food writing anthology edited by Jonathan Nunn, alongside contributors including Claudia Roden, Ruby Tandoh and Jeremy Corbyn. Jenny has spoken at the British Library Food Season and the Edinburgh International Book Festival, lectured at SOAS, and taken part in panels and collaborations with the BFI, Southbank Centre, MilkTeaFilms and the Horniman Museum. She lives in London.