Imperial Household Department
Li family's cuisine (Li-Jia-Cai, 厉家菜) is developed from Chinese imperial cuisine, and it is a fusion of Chinese imperial cuisine and Beijing cuisine, supplemented by dishes created by their own. Contrary to the rest styles of Chinese aristocrat cuisine that are developed from and based on regional cuisines of southern China, Li family's cuisine is developed from and based on northern regional cuisines of northern China: The original creator of Li family's cuisine, Mr. Li Shun-Qing (厉顺庆), was a Qing Dynasty subject with rank of lieutenant general (都统, "Dutong"), in charge of Empress Dowager Cixi’s Imperial Household Department, and he memorized the menus of Empress Dowager's meals at work, and then wrote down after returning home, and the menus were kept in the family for more than a century.