I don’t think ‘importing’ chefs from China is the answer – seeking out the great Chinese food that’s already in the States – and promoting it, and being as willing to pay for exquisitely prepared, authentic Chinese food as we are for, say, Italian or French food – is.

This is not a matter of shortage, it’s a matter of exhorting the American public to, as you say, educate themselves about REAL Chinese food. If I had a nickel for everytime I’ve heard a American who’s traveled in China say ‘The food wasn’t great. It just wasn’t like the Chinese food I’ve eaten here.’

This post brought home to me that in Melbourne, Australia, where I live, we take good Chinese food for granted. I suppose that it is the proximity to Asia that allows us to enjoy all the relevant produce at it’s freshest and a migrant population that enjoys the food of many cultures that encourage people to open restaurants. Of course the food of remote regions in China is not available to us and initially our food was of a Southern Chinese bias, but with the increasing number of Chinese immigrants we are discovering a wider offering of regional cuisines.

We do also suffer the indignity of food critics who know little about Asian cuisine, but I think that most proprietors are not fussed, as word spreads quickly amongst Asians when a good restaurant is discovered. Westerners are not considered good clientele here by Chinese Restauranteurs, because theyare known to sit in the venue long after the meal has been served, not allowing for tables to be turned.