Erchen Chang

Erchen Chang (Chinese: 張爾宬; pinyin: Zhāng ěr chéng) is a Taiwanese chef, who is a creative director and co-founder at the restaurants Bao, Bao Fitzrovia and Xu in London, England.[1]

Erchen Chang
Born
Taiwan
EducationSlade School of Fine Art, University College London
SpouseShing Tat Chung
Culinary career
Cooking styleTaiwanese cuisine
Current restaurant(s)
    • Bao
    • Bao Fitzrovia
    • Xu

Career

Erchen Chang lived in Taiwan until she was 14, and was schooled some distance away from where her family lived. As a result, she became very familiar with eating at the night markets in Taiwan. At her home, her grandmother would take charge of cooking for the family, usually for at least ten people at a time. While Chang would try to help her, she found it difficult to keep up and would often only do minor tasks like adding garnishes.[2] She was then sent to London to attend boarding school.[3]

While studying art at the Slade School of Fine Art within University College London,[3] she met Shing Tat Chung. The pair would take trips back to Taiwan together; Tat Chung's parents had run a Cantonese restaurant in Nottingham. Together with Tat Chung's sister, Wai Ting Chung, the trio opened the street food stand Bao in 2012. This was under KERB, a London based street food collective. Following some success, they opened a semi-permanent fixture at Netil Market in Hackney. A permanent location in Soho then followed, with Chang and her now husband Shing Tat Chung working in the kitchen and Wai Ting Chung running the front of house.[4]

As well as opening a second permanent Bao location in Fitzrovia, she developed the concept for a more formal dining experience at the restaurant Xu. Chang chose to name the new restaurant after her grandfather. At those restaurants, she has worked to develop certain Taiwanese dishes such as century egg and pig's blood cake for a western audience.[5]

References
  1. 羅璿 (7 August 2022). "(Chinese)讓英國人愛上刈包、豬血糕、池上便當 藝術系女孩怎麼在倫敦賣台灣小吃？". Evening Standard. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  2. Stewart, Victoria (3 October 2016). "Erchen Chang: Bao's head chef remembers eating poached goose and tea tree noodles in Taiwan". Evening Standard. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  3. "Making Magic in the Kitchen". Red Valentino. 8 July 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  4. Eversham, Emma (13 April 2015). "Shing Tat Chung of Bao London on turning a street food stall into a permanent restaurant". Big Hospitality. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  5. Arencibia, Nicola (1 March 2017). "London's coolest female chefs". Time Out London. Retrieved 18 November 2017.


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