of the immigrants to the United States during this period had been born in mainland China and fled to Taiwan with the retreating KMT, particularly former residents of the Dachen Islands who had been evacuated in 1955. Traditionally, Taiwanese food has been hard to differentiate from Chinese and Japanese food abroad, since many Taiwanese chefs cooked simplified or westernized versions of traditional Taiwanese, Japanese, or Chinese dishes. In 2018, there was a rapid growth in the number of authentic Taiwanese restaurants in New York City and across the country, which coincided with an increased interest in regional Chinese food and in Taiwan itself. Some object to the politically fraught inclusion of Taiwanese cuisine under the banner of regional Chinese food and point out that it is inaccurate. Taiwanese American cuisine is emerging as a full cuisine in its own right. Myers + Chang in Boston was one of the first restaurants to explicitly describe their food as such. In 2018, James Beard Award-winning chef Stephanie Izard opened a Taiwanese snack/dessert shop in Chicago. Taiwanese cuisine has a significant presence in the San Francisco Bay Area. Culinary education Historically, culinary education was informal with apprentices learning from a master for many years before they practice the craft on their own. The first college level course in cooking was implemented in 1986 at Danshui Technical College. Culinary schools Danshui Technical College National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism See also Agriculture in Taiwan Maritime industries of Taiwan Q texture List of restaurants in Taiwan References Further reading External links