Beijing-born chef and author Shirley Chung has made a name for herself at many restaurants and on Food Network for years. Trained in classic French and Italian cuisine, she brings a certain style to the kitchen that others just can’t match, especially when it comes to dumplings. Just ask the Los Angeles Times, which dubbed her the “Dumpling Queen” in 2018.

Shirley has competed on Top Chef, Wildcard Kitchen, Guy’s Grocery Games, Beat Bobby Flay, Tournament of Champions, Bobby’s Triple Threat, TOC: All-Star Christmas and House of Knives. She’s turned in her toque for a tasting fork in Guy’s Grocery Games, Chopped and The Globe.

Keep scrolling to reveal Shirley’s origins, her TV appearances and what she’s been up to lately.

History and Background

Born and raised in Beijing, Shirley immigrated to the United States to attend college in California. She earned a business degree and worked in Silicon Valley for five years before enrolling in the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. “The first day of culinary school, when I heard the sound of chopping and smelled the aroma of baking bread in the air, the hair on the back of my neck stood up,” Shirley told ShoutoutLA. “I knew this was my calling.”

She went on to open restaurants for Thomas Keller, Guy Savoy and José Andrés, the latter of which led to José’s China Poblano earning a James Beard Award nomination for Best New Restaurant. Shirley accomplished all of this before competing on Top Chef Season 11. She used that experience as a springboard to open Twenty Eight in Irvine, California, in 2014, but she left two years later, around the same time she competed on Top Chef Season 14. Her next venture, Ms. Chi Cafe, opened in 2018 in Culver City and earned her the title of “Dumpling Queen” from the LA Times.

Sadly, Shirley closed the cafe in August 2024 upon receiving a stage 4 tongue cancer diagnosis that June. She battled the cancer for 18 months and was able to return to the work she loved: cooking and competing. Following a year of remission — and relearning how to speak, how to swallow and using her palate again, per D Magazine — Shirley opened Dallas eatery Night Rooster.

Family Life

While cooking might have been her initial dream, food was always a constant in Shirley’s life. Her grandmother Liang Si Yi, the former director of the Red Cross in China, exposed her to international cuisine at a young age. Shirley told Food Network that Liang “introduced the world to me through food — chocolate and cheese from Switzerland, Coca-Cola from America, shortbread biscuits from England, mochi from Japan, fish sauce from Vietnam.”

Beyond her grandmother, her husband, Jimmy Lee, has always been on and by her side. The dynamic duo even opened Ms. Chi Cafe together and closed it so they could focus solely on Shirley’s cancer battle. She told ShoutoutLA of their relationship: “He pushed me to pursue my dream of becoming a chef and supported me financially when I was in culinary school. He also dared me to be on Top Chef and left his career in high tech and joined me in the crazy restaurant world.” The third member of her support system? Her sweet pooch Baxter.

Shirley’s Shows

The “Dumpling Queen” was crowned the winner of the first season of House of Knives, beat Bobby Flay’s Titans on Bobby’s Triple Threat and has competed on Top Chef, Wildcard Kitchen, Guy’s Grocery Games, Beat Bobby Flay, Tournament of Champions, TOC: All-Star Christmas and House of Knives. Shirley has even lent her expertise to Chopped, The Globe, Guy's Ranch Kitchen and Selena + Restaurant.

Top Chef

Shirley tied for third place in Season 11 of Top Chef, but she made it all the way to the final two in Season 14. During the last round against Brooke Williamson, she shared her pork belly with her competitor because Brooke’s order wasn’t delivered correctly. Brooke took the win, but Shirley ultimately took her down in a Top Chef Duels rematch and again when Shirley went up against Bobby Flay’s Titans — including Brooke — on Bobby’s Triple Threat, pork belly included.

Tournament of Champions

Shirley has been chosen to compete in Seasons 3, 4, 5 and 7 of Tournament of Champions. During her first time in Guy Fieri’s arena, she beat Marcel Vigneron and Joe Sasto, but lost to Jet Tila in the quarterfinals. Season 4 saw Shirley go up against Tracey Shepos Cenami and win 86 to 79 and then lose to Adam Sobel in the second round. She garnered similar results in the fifth season, beating Joe Sasto and then losing to Kevin Lee.

Shirley’s cancer diagnosis prevented her from competing in Season 6, but after her recovery and remission, she came back strong for Season 7. In the first round, she beat Dale Talde 94 to 87, then followed that up with outcooking Viet Pham 87 to 80. The quarterfinals pitted Shirley against Bryan Voltaggio, winner of TOC: All-Star Christmas. She lost by only two points and he was dubbed the seventh season’s victor.

Beat Bobby Flay

Shirley stopped by in Season 35 to try her hand at beating Bobby Flay on his own turf. In order to earn a chance to cook against the master, she had to defeat fellow Los Angeles chef Tim Hollingsworth. With smoked trout as the assigned first-round ingredient, Shirley dreamed up steamed egg custard, leading judge Carla Hall to say, “Pop, pop, pop, wow.” Unfortunately, she was knocked out and didn’t get the chance to best Bobby.

Bobby’s Triple Threat

Shirley once again accepted Bobby Flay’s invitation to compete, this time against his Titans Michael Voltaggio, Brooke Williamson and Tiffany Derry. When picking who to go up against first, she chose Michael and shared that she was saving fellow Top Chef Season 14 competitor — the first place to Shirley’s second — Brooke for last.

For Round 1, Bobby selected king crab and mustards as the required ingredients, with judge Geoffrey Zakarian awarding Shirley eight points to Michael’s seven. She challenged Tiffany for the second round, using ground beef and shallots to once again earn eight points to Tiffany’s seven. The third and final round saw Shirley choosing pork belly and doubanjiang as the ingredients, the dish that cost Shirley the Top Chef crown. She was able to snag the win and $25,000 this time around, with Geoffrey scoring her dish 17 points to Brooke’s 15, totaling 33 overall to the Titans’ 29.

House of Knives

Picked to compete as part of the show’s first season, Shirley went after the $100,000 grand prize and a place on the throne with her signature style. “The best part of this competition is we got to cook anything we wanted and were able to compete with our own cooking style without much limitation,” she told Food Network. Putting her own spin on things sure paid off, as she was chosen by the Culinary Council as the winner after beating Claudette Zepeda.

Shirley’s Restaurants

After opening and running restaurants for others — even earning José Andrés’ China Poblano a James Beard Award nomination for Best New Restaurant in 2011 — Shirley decided to helm her own eateries in California and Texas. Currently, she’s serving up her trademark tastes at Night Rooster.

Twenty Eight

Following her first run on Top Chef, Shirley partnered with restaurateur Stacie Tran to open Twenty Eight in California’s Orange County. Ahead of the opening, she told Eater, “I have opened many restaurants in my career … but this is the first time I am watching my own project built from the ground up.” Shirley decided to depart after competing in Top Chef for the second time to pursue other interests, resulting in the restaurant shifting its modern Chinese cuisine to wood-grilled meats.

Ms. Chi Cafe

Shirley’s next venture was Ms. Chi Cafe in Culver City, California. In 2018, she opened the fast-casual restaurant with her husband, Jimmy, to redefine Chinese food in the Los Angeles area. Shirley’s savory success led to the LA Times dubbing her the “Dumpling Queen,” a reputation she built on during the COVID-19 pandemic by offering frozen dumplings through Goldbelly. Sadly, she and Jimmy made the decision to close Ms. Chi in August 2024 to focus on her health after she received her cancer diagnosis.

Night Rooster

Shirley didn’t wait too long after being in remission to announce her next restaurant: Night Rooster in Dallas, Texas. Opened in early 2026, Night Rooster features Chinese on the ground floor and is considered by some to be her professional comeback to the kitchen. “After everything I’ve been through, I can’t begin to say enough about how happy I am to be cooking again,” she said in a release, “and I hope this restaurant will be filled with passion and joy, from our team and our guests alike.”

Shirley’s Philanthropic Work

Following her cancer diagnosis and subsequent remission, Shirley became actively involved in research advocacy and philanthropy. She’s a Champion of Hope for the American Cancer Society, and recently she helped raise more than $264,000 for the organization at the Taste of Hope Gala in Minnesota.

Shirley’s Cookbook

In October 2018, Shirley published her first cookbook, Chinese Heritage Cooking From My American Kitchen. Featuring a foreword by Andrew Zimmern, her recipes included Scallion Pancakes With Hazelnut Pesto, Beijing-Spiced Lamb Chops and Spinach Egg Drop Soup. Purchase for the food pairings but stay for Shirley’s “personal and humorous writing style,” as highlighted by the Library Journal.