Ying's Kitchen came to Lake County via China ... and Toledo
When Ying Stoller left her native China, she didn't settle in Chicago or New York or Los Angeles right away.
She instead went directly to Toledo, Ohio.
Toledo was a town recommended by some American tourists she met while working as a travel agent and tour guide in China. She decided to earn her MBA at the University of Toledo and later launched a cooking and food business that eventually led to TV and other appearances. She now lives in Gurnee.
"This was never my plan but so many people loved my sauces and my cooking," she said. "It is that customer satisfaction and their enjoyment that made me feel like I should stay in this."
Stoller was born and raised in Harbin, northeastern China, and she learned a lot about cooking from her father, who enjoyed cooking at home. She later learned more at her sister's restaurant in China.
But it was while she worked as a tour guide that opened her horizons and she enjoyed eating various styles of foods around China. She earned a bachelor's degree in education at Harbin Teachers College and, as a hobby, continued cooking for friends and family, she said.
While giving a group of visitors a tour, they suggested she go to Toledo, Ohio, where they said there were some opportunities. She thought about it for a while and then applied and was accepted at the University of Toledo and earned her MBA. She also met her husband, married and raised three children for the next 16 years in Toledo.
Later, her husband's job took them to to Illinois and they settled in Gurnee. She taught cooking at the College of Lake County and often went back to visit family in Toledo.
She continued to experiment with various forms of Chinese cooking with lower sodium and no MSG. That led to developing her own line of Asian sauces called Ying through Ying's Kitchen Inc. The products, including sweet-and-sour sauces and marinades, are manufactured and bottled by a contracted company. Many of the 10 varieties are sold at Mariano's, Jewel-Osco, Garden Fresh, and other stores, she said.
Besides the sauces, she plans to debut a gluten-free batter mix, she said.
She also compiled a cookbook featuring recipes she collected over the years called Ying's Chinese Cookbook. It's available over Amazon and on her website at www.yingskitchen.com.
Over the last 10 years, she also has appeared on WGN-TV newscasts to demonstrate Chinese cooking, especially around the Chinese New Year, as well as some events around the Chicago area, including Taste of Chicago.
"I just want people to enjoy their food without it being too salty," she said. "It just makes me happy that they can enjoy their food."
<h3 class="briefHead">Trolley is booked</h3>
Annette Wehrli, owner and "trolley chick" of Naperville Trolley & Tours said her company booked up earlier than usual this season for its holiday lights tour around Naperville and parts of Bolingbrook.
The company never sold out so quickly before. And customers are already thinking about next year as she has booked about 25 tours so far for next December, she said.
"Now it will be hard for me to tell people when they call or email that I have no public or private tour availability left," she said.
Her father, Don, started the company in 1995 and she bought it from him in March 2014. He died last May, so this is her first Christmas without him.
"He did a lot of the little things to help, like fix the lights, up until the end ..." she said.
<h3 class="briefHead">Leis on the road</h3>
Alan Leis, retired superintendent of Naperville Community Unit District 203 and consultant for Hazard Young Attea & Associates in Rosemont, posted on Facebook that he was traveling through Machu Picchu, Peru.
<h3 class="briefHead">FastTracks</h3>
Craig Winters, a massage therapist at Massage Envy in Glen Ellyn, has been working there since 2008 and will be providing his 10,000th massage. ... Ahmed Badat of Lisle has been named the 2015 Realtor of the Year by Mainstreet Organization of Realtors in Downers Grove. Badat, who has worked at AMB Realty & Investment for more than 25 years and has been a Realtor since 1986, was recognized for his contributions both for his work in his industry and in the community.
Adam Stary is a new broker at John Greene Realtor, a private brokerage in Naperville. Over the past three years, Stary has closed 250 sales valued at more than $45 million. ... Kathleen Savio, president of programs & direct markets at Zurich North America in Schaumburg, is one of 25 women nationwide selected by Business Insurance magazine as the 2015 Women to Watch. The award honors women in the commercial insurance industry for their accomplishments, expertise, leadership and career prospects.
Phil Teng, an IT industry veteran in Downers Grove, has joined CrossRealms Inc. as the organization's first vice president of sales and operations. ... Joseph Vito, a litigation attorney and a current trustee in Wheeling, has joined Lavelle Law in Palatine. ... Christine Rojas is the new scheduling coordinator and Carrie Kutrubis is the new marketing director at Synergy HomeCare in Schaumburg.
Brian P. MacDonald, who currently serves on CDK Global Inc. board of directors, will succeed Steven J. Anenen as CEO of CDK by June 30. The company said Anenen will step down as CEO once the transition has been completed, following a 40-year career. CDK is in Hoffman Estates.
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