Just like if you were brought up on a farm, you would most likely carry on your father's business as a farmer; I was brought up in the kitchen and ended up becoming a chef.

He also appeared as a guest judge on the season 10 finale of Top Chef. Career
Yan began teaching Chinese cooking for a college extension program and appearing on a Canadian Calgary talk show in 1978 (on CFAC-TV now CICT-TV). He has hosted over 1500 episodes of the PBS cooking shows Yan Can Cook since 1982.