The story of American Chinese chain Panda Express – is the Chinese food it serves ‘authentic’?
- Panda Express has become many Americans’ first — and in some cases, only — exposure to the cuisine
- Critics are quick to label it as inauthentic because of its deep-fried, high-sugar offerings
Andrea Cherng, the chief marketing officer of Panda Express, spends a lot of time thinking about how mainstream America perceives Chinese food.
For many Americans, the fast-food chain is their first taste of Chinese food. And while yes, Cherng gets paid to shape the rhetoric around Panda Restaurant Group, which owns Panda Express, there’s a deeper, more sentimental cause behind her drive.
Cherng is the daughter of Andrew and Peggy Cherng, the founders of Panda Express. She has personally witnessed it grow from a small family-run restaurant in the Los Angeles area to an international chain with locations around the world.
“Back then, my father worked front of the house and my grandfather worked back of the house,” she says. “There weren’t enough dollars to support the family, and I remember the desperation of those moments.”
The desperation was so great that Cherng recalls her father chasing down any customer who left without ordering.
“Each of the customers was so important to us because without them, my family would not survive,” she says. “That has been imprinted in our culture.”