Lo was born inShun Tak, a district ofGuangdong,China.[2][3] At the age of five, she began to cook which was encouraged by her parents, particularly her mother who believed that "children should know how to do everything", and a father who had traveled widely and was familiar with foreign cuisines. Early influences also included her grandmother who instilled in her the techniques and culture of cooking while she was still a child.
In 1950, Lo fled theChinese Communist Revolution to live with relatives in Hong Kong. While there she learned English and further enhanced her knowledge of cooking by researching cuisines from all of the regions of China and taking lessons from an aunt who was herself a highly accomplished cook.
After moving to the United States, she was urged by friends to teach Chinese cookery which she began to do in the early 1970s. For many years she taught in her home, from beginners to master classes. In 1976, she was invited to join the cooking and nutrition staff of the China Institute inNew York City and taught there for more than twenty years. She has also taught Chinese cookery at TheNew School University in New York City.
In 1959, Lo married Fred Ferretti, an American journalist she met in Hong Kong while he was on assignment for the military newspaper,Stars and Stripes.[1] She moved with him to the United States, initially living inQueens, New York.[1]
Mastering The Art of Chinese Cooking was a winner of the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) Julia Child Award and nominated for The James Beard Award
The Chinese Banquet Book Cookbook was an IACP Julia Child Award winner
The Dim Sum Book was nominated for an IACP Julia Child Award
From the Earth: Chinese Vegetarian Cooking was nominated for an IACP Julia Child Award and The James Beard Award
Joe Yonan (Mastering the Art of Plant-Based Cooking, 2025)
Nominees
Moosewood Collective (Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant, 1991),(Moosewood Cooks for a Crowd, 1997), (Moosewood Restaurant New Classics, 2002), and (Moosewood Restaurant Celebrates, 2004)
Deborah Madison (This Can't Be Tofu, 2001), (Vegetable Soups from Deborah Madison's Kitchen, 2006),(Vegetable Soups from Deborah Madison's Kitchen, 2007), (In My Kitchen, 2018)
