Best Chefs in Pittsburgh: Wei Zhu’s Critically Acclaimed Chinese Cuisine at Chengdu Gourmet

By Olivia Miller

Walking through the front doors of Chengdu Gourmet and seeing the awards from Pittsburgh Magazine and the James Beard Foundation, you instantly know you’re in for a good meal. But few know the story of the man behind their pork soup dumplings and his journey from immigrating from China to being one of the most decorated chefs in the city.

Chef Wei Zhu comes from 3 generations of chefs and started cooking when he was 15 years old in his family’s restaurant in Chengdu, China. He opened his own restaurant in China before coming to America in 2005 to attend culinary school, destined to learn how to cook the perfect steak. However, between high costs of tuition and already possessing a lot of the knowledge taught in his classes, Chef Zhu left culinary school in pursuit of opening his own restaurant.

After years of cooking in New York, Chef Zhu returned to Pittsburgh and opened Chengdu Gourmet’s first restaurant in Squirrel Hill. He noticed the lack of authentic Chinese restaurants in Pittsburgh, especially those that specialize in Sichuan cuisine. Since then, Chengdu Gourmet has expanded to include a second location in the North Hills and a third location opening in the near future specializing in handcrafted, homemade noodle bowls.

In both his food and service, Zhu has an established reputation of not sacrificing quality. The presentation of his dishes alone shows the great dedication he has for showcasing authentic Sichuan flavors. When dining at Chengdu Gourmet, Zhu will happily give customers tours of the restaurant, taking his numerous award plaques off the walls to show them.

To Chef Zhu, being a chef is just as much about connecting with customers as it is cooking good food. He says, “a good cook appreciates people who enjoy their food.” He fondly tells stories of dining Pittsburgh greats like one Steelers player turned frequent customer who would eat two whopping orders of their famous chongqing style crispy chicken after practice.

Just as much as Zhu loves his customers, they love him right back. He has been nominated for the James Beard Award numerous times, including last year as a semifinalist for the best chef in the Mid Atlantic United States. In 2022 he was awarded The President’s Volunteer Service Award and received a special message from President Joe Biden.