A rare book on Chinese food will be published in English

Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) poet and scholar Yuan Mei's 1792 manual of gastronomy, Suiyuan Shidan, or Recipes from the Garden of Contentment, will soon have an English edition.

A bilingual version of the book will be released in the United States on Feb 5.

The English version has been translated and annotated by Sean Chen, a Canadian scientist who develops algorithms for computer-assisted, minimally invasive neurosurgery.

Karen Christensen, founder of Berkshire Publishing Group, says: "Chefs can get new ideas about Chinese food, and readers who have a general interest in Chinese culture or simply in global cuisine will find Yuan Mei's writing and Sean Chen's wonderful and lively annotations shed new light on Chinese cuisine."

The bilingual version will be valuable to students and scholars, and the English-only version is coming in April, she says.

Chen, who was born in Singapore but grew up in North America, was initially exposed to Chinese cuisine at home and in Chinese-American restaurants. But he deepened his knowledge about it during his university years. And he soon found himself obsessed with Chinese cuisine and food history.