Shirley Cheng was a professor of culinary arts at the world's premier culinary college, The Culinary Institute of America, for over 32 years, teaching Cuisines and Cultures of Asia.

She was most recently inducted into the American Academy of Chefs, Culinary Hall of Fame as Celebrated Chef of 2024. Today, with 41 years of experience in culinary education and the food industry, Chef Cheng is an accomplished and respected professor of Asian cuisine, specializing in Sichuan regional cuisine of China.

In her culinary teaching career, Chef Cheng has always practiced minimal waste in her kitchen and developed many strategies and recipes to maximize the use of all ingredients, with a near-zero-waste mindset. Her colleagues and students found her kitchen practices fascinating.