A researched professional record. Inclusion does not confirm representation, availability or interest in a new project.
At a glance
Liang Dee (Chef Dee) is the founder of Chef 1996 and a Sichuan native born in Chengdu, raised in Emei. She entered the restaurant business in the late eighties or early nineties, working in Qinhuangdao where she met her husband, a chef. In 1996 they opened their first restaurant in Beijing, which grew into the Meizhou Dongpo group. After the original site was demolished in 2019, she opened Chef 1996 in 2023 as a personal, 30-year-plus project. The Best Chef Awards 2025 lists her at One Knife.[1] [2] [3]
Cooking & identity
Her cooking is a modern Sichuan register: traditional flavours, family memories and the 24 flavour types, expressed with precise technique, seasonal sourcing and a lighter aesthetic. She calls the approach “Modern Oriental,” evolving Sichuan cuisine from within rather than dressing it in a foreign language.[1] [2]
Why this profile is included
The restaurant’s own first-person introduction names her as its 主理人 (person in charge); the same text records her role in the 1996 first restaurant and the Meizhou Dongpo years, and the 2023 opening of Chef 1996.[1] [2] [3]
Independent observations
ChefsLanding · · Editorial commentary on the public record
A 30-year restaurant career is not automatically a philosophy, but Liang Dee’s own text gives it a concrete shape: the 24 flavour types, the four seasons, the private rooms named after years. The useful test is whether those frames produce better cooking or merely a more elaborate family album.
Her “Modern Oriental” line could become a slogan; the tea-smoked duck and the seasonal flavour work are where it has to earn its keep. We would rather follow the next menu than the next plaque.
Recent developments
Collaborations & guest appearances
0 collaboration projects · 0 within the two-year research window
Projects are deduplicated: multiple nights, venues or reports do not automatically become separate collaborations. Food-and-drink events and shared festival appearances are labelled by format.
- No named collaboration project has yet been verified for this profile. This does not establish that no collaboration has taken place.
Career & milestones
- Early life
Born in Chengdu and raised in Emei, Sichuan; family and local traditions shaped her early taste.[1]
- Late 1980s–early 1990s
Worked in Qinhuangdao in the late eighties or early nineties, where she met her husband, a chef; she worked as a server and learned the kitchen.[1]
- 1996
Opened the couple’s first restaurant in Beijing in 1996; the business grew into the Meizhou Dongpo restaurant and food group.[1]
- 2019
The original site was demolished in 2019; she preserved its sign, stone lions, photographs, menus and licences as the material for a new restaurant.[1]
- 2023
Opened Chef 1996 in Beijing in 2023, gathering 30-plus years of experience into private rooms named after years and a 24-flavour Sichuan menu. Liang Dee’s own introduction is dated 6 June 2023, which is not necessarily the opening day.[1]
- 2025–2027
The Best Chef Awards 2025 lists her at One Knife; the 2027 MICHELIN Guide and the 2026 Asia’s 50 Best list recognise the restaurant.[2] [4] [3]
Recognition over time
Restaurant ratings and individual honours are listed separately. Editorial profiles are labelled as coverage.
- 2025
The Best Chef Awards · One Knife (current 2025 guide profile)[2]
Sources & dates
Public biographies, restaurant statements and named interviews checked on 5 November 2026. Exact employment dates and unreported engagements may remain unavailable.
- Chef 1996 · 梁棣 · 1996川菜·主厨餐厅自述 ↗Checked 2026-11-05
- thebestchefawards.com · Liang Dee · The Best Chef profile ↗Checked 2026-11-05
- 50 Best · Asia’s 50 Best 2026 · published 51–100 list ↗Published 2026-03-12 · Checked 2026-11-05
- MICHELIN · MICHELIN Beijing–Tianjin 2027 · Chef 1996 promotion ↗Published 2026-10-27 · Checked 2026-11-05