Irene Li
Food Columnist
Irene Li operates Mei Mei Street Kitchen and Mei Mei Restaurant in Boston, and works to drive the industry forward in ethical sourcing and fair employment practices. A Boston native and Cornell University graduate, Irene has worked on farms, taught in prisons and watched hours of YouTube videos on food and cooking. Since 2012, Mei Mei has been featured by Food & Wine, Eater Boston & National, The New York Times, Restaurant Hospitality, People, Bon Appetit, The Boston Globe and more. She is an Eater Young Gun, Zagat 30 Under 30 and Forbes 30 Under 30 winner and four-time James Beard Foundation Rising Star Chef semi-finalist.
Recently published
What's In Our Food Matters — Yes, Even What's In That Ice Cream Cone
We have to push past the nostalgia that keeps us from asking important questions about what we’re paying for and putting in our bodies. Only then can we earnestly engage...
Accessibility Is Hospitality: Why The Restaurant Industry Needs To Catch Up
As spaces designed for hospitality, restaurants have a unique opportunity and responsibility to attend to the needs of diners with disabilities, writes Irene Li.
5 Local Foods You Can Eat To Help Preserve Biodiversity — And Help The Planet
The World Wildlife Fund recommended eating 50 foods to help preserve the planet's species. We chose five tasty options you can find easily in New England.
For Our Food Culture To Diversify, Our Restaurant Criticism Needs To, Too
With a diverse crop of restaurant critics taking over at West Coast newspapers, a whole new group of chefs will enjoy the possibility of being understood and acknowledged on their...
Diversity Was Served At The James Beard Awards, But Largely Missing From Boston's Diet
I am wondering why chefs of color telling deeply personal stories are so few and far between in our city, even as they grow more present on national lists, writes...
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The Powerful Whimsy Of 'Salt Fat Acid Heat' Star Samin Nosrat
“Who is profiting here? Who is getting the credit? Who has historically been powerless or powerful? Those are the questions I’m drawn to," says," 'Salt Fat Acid Heat' star Samin...
Let's Really Talk About SNAP And Food Insecurity
As politicians continue to debate SNAP with facts and figures, we can inform ourselves in a different way: by listening to the real stories of those who face food insecurity...
Will Changing Definitions Of Meat Affect How We Think About Our Values?
Diet and identity are closely linked -- we are what we eat. Not eating meat or meat products can be “a public declaration of one’s identity." Consuming meat can play...
Let's Stop Putting Immigrant-Owned Restaurants Into A Box
Immigrant-owned restaurants are all too often trapped in an alternate economy that disincentivizes innovation and creativity, writes Irene Li.
Will A More Diverse Boston Lose Its Obsession With Italian Food?
As much as Irene Li loves to eat Italian food, she suspects that its dominance locally is the result of a complex set of historical social inequalities -- and social...