'Dumpling Queen' Chef Shirley Chung Takes the First-Ever 'House of Knives' Crown

Born and raised in Beijing, chef Shirley Chung immigrated to the U.S. with her family at age 17, bringing with her a rich culinary heritage rooted in the teachings of her grandmother. Classically trained in French, Italian and Spanish cuisine, Shirley has worked in some of the most renowned kitchens in America. Over the years, she’s competed in several high-pressure cooking competitions, most recently taking home the crown on the first season of Food Network’s House of Knives. After a hard-fought (and victorious) battle with cancer, Shirley continues to inspire with her resilience, all-world talent, and deep love and appreciation of food. Get to know the “Dumpling Queen” in this exclusive Q&A.

Who are the biggest influences that shaped your love for cooking?

SHIRLEY: My grandmother Sylvia Liang is the reason I love food so much. She traveled around the world working for the Red Cross Society of China and 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 … each food came with a story of that country’s culture. My grandma loved food. We had elaborate dinners every night, and she would take the family out to fancy restaurants every weekend. She was not a great cook, but it never stopped her from trying to re-create dishes from her travels and childhood.

My fondest cooking memory with Grandma was when she tried to make char siu BBQ pork at home without an oven. She hung the sweet, glossy marinated pork in a tall steamer and put it directly on the burner. Not long after, the sugar dripping from the pork started to burn on the bottom of the pot, and very quickly burned a hole — the entire steamer pot was on fire. Grandma grabbed the pot and threw it into the backyard, and I followed with a bowl of water, poured it over and put out the fire. After the pot cooled down, she picked through the wet, burnt pieces of char siu pork, tore off a piece for me and her, tasted it and said, “Ah, too bad, this marinade is on point!” Set things on fire, not afraid of making mistakes in the kitchen, always have fun when cooking — I still do the same today.

You grew up in Beijing and immigrated to the U.S. at 17. How did that transition affect your culinary journey, and what challenges did you face adapting to a new culture and cooking style?

SHIRLEY: When I first came to the U.S., my parents were very busy building their company and often came home late at night. I wanted to make dinners for them but didn’t know how to use a Western-style kitchen and was not familiar with American ingredients. So, I started to watch PBS and the Food Network to learn how to cook. I was roaming the supermarket for hours at a time — reading all of the food labels was how I studied English. Because my parents still preferred Chinese food, I started to experiment with cooking techniques. I learned from TV and blended those dishes with Chinese seasoning and flavors using local California ingredients. Modern American cuisine with a Chinese soul — this is still my cooking style today.

Did you always know you wanted to be a chef?

SHIRLEY: I came from a family line of doctors — my mom was prepping me for medical school since I was young. But I was only interested in hands-on labs. I was very good at dissecting animals but had no interest in learning the academic side of medicine. So, I ended up with a business degree and followed my father’s path, working in Silicon Valley after college. After a short career in semiconductors, I didn’t feel fulfilled at my job, so I went to California Culinary Academy (CCA) for fun — but I realized cooking was my calling the moment I stepped into the first kitchen at CCA and decided to become a professional chef.

How did your training at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco influence your cooking style, especially as you began working with some of the world’s most renowned chefs?

SHIRLEY: My training from CCA built a great foundation for professional kitchen etiquette and basic French cooking techniques. It also lit the fire of my passion for cooking and becoming a chef. I had never worked in a professional kitchen before I started culinary school. I learned the flow of a kitchen from school, and that gave me more confidence to work and stage in the best restaurants in the Bay Area when I first started.

Over the course of your career, you’ve worked with celebrated chefs like Thomas Keller, Guy Savoy and José Andrés. What would you say are the most valuable lessons you’ve learned from working in Michelin-starred kitchens?

SHIRLEY: I’ve learned that being a chef is a lifestyle. We are constantly learning and getting inspirations from life, creating new dishes, refining our business operations, falling in love with new flavors, re-creating emotional memories — we never stop. I’ve learned that passion comes with burden. I am passionate about food and cooking, which means I am not afraid of making mistakes and failed dishes. I will always be able to get up from my failures and continue to push forward.

You were a finalist on Season 11 of 'Top Chef.' What was that experience like, and how did it push you to grow as a chef?

SHIRLEY: Before I competed on Top Chef, I was the best “shadow chef” — really good at translating my chef’s culinary vision and creating dishes as their head chef. I was knowledgeable in French, Italian, Chinese, even Mexican cuisines, but not sure about what my own cooking style was. During Top Chef, I was cooking with instinct; every single one of my winning dishes was created on the spot. I often used all the cooking techniques in my back pocket, blended with the Beijing flavors I grew up with. I found my culinary voice while competing.

In high-pressure competition environments, how do you stay focused and ensure your creativity shines through?

SHIRLEY: I tend to overthink a dish. Normally, I do better in longer cooking time scenarios than the 30-minute quick challenges. So, I always limit the components on the plate to five or less; then, I can execute each one as perfectly as I can. Staying calm and happy is also very important for me to win, so I repeat affirmations to myself while listening to K-pop very loudly. That is how I prep right before I start competing.

What was it like competing in (and winning!) the inaugural season of 'House of Knives,' and how do you feel it differs from your past experiences in cooking competitions?

SHIRLEY: I really loved competing in House of Knives. It was so different than any competition I’ve been in. The concept is fun and over the top. As you can tell, I'm an over-the-top kind of person naturally. To be able to be my silly self automatically put me in a very good competition mood. And 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. Then comes the strategy play! To win doesn’t mean you have to present your best dishes every single time — it’s like running a marathon. You need to reserve your creative energy sometimes, so when the finale comes, you will come out with a knockout punch.

You’ve opened two restaurants of your own, Twenty Eight and Ms Chi Cafe. What inspired you to open these two very different concepts, and what do they each offer that you’re particularly proud of?

SHIRLEY: I opened Twenty Eight in Orange County, California, right after I had competed on Season 11 of Top Chef. It was a very large, beautiful, formal space, and I was eager to show off my newfound culinary voice and my global cuisine knowledge. We opened with a progressive menu that had a house-made Chinese charcuterie board, handmade squid ink noodles with prawn butter and spicy fish siu mai topped with uni. I was very proud to see similar dishes start to pop up in other restaurants later on.

And then we opened Ms. Chi Cafe on the main street of downtown Culver City, California. It’s a very cute neighborhood. I wanted to open a restaurant for the community that serves great, affordable food that warms your soul — a place I would personally want to eat at every day. Dumplings and noodles are my favorite foods. Ms. Chi was an elevated dumpling house; not only did we have traditional Northern China–style dumplings, but also my Chinese-American creations like the jumbo cheeseburger potstickers with bacon jam and grilled cheese tomato soup Dumplings. Because of my unique Chinese-American dumpling offerings, the Los Angeles Times crowned me the "Dumpling Queen." We also shipped our house-made frozen dumplings nationwide, selling over 10 million dumplings from our small 60-seat restaurant.

What’s next for you in life, the restaurant world, and do you have any future projects or concepts you’re excited about?

SHIRLEY: Dumplings!! I am planning to come back to the culinary world with my special dumplings. I plan to open another restaurant in the future, but currently I am working on my own brand of special frozen dumplings for the retail market.

You were diagnosed with Stage 4 tongue cancer in 2024 and went through an intense treatment journey. How has this experience impacted your perspective on life and cooking?

SHIRLEY: Since my diagnosis, my goal is to set the wellness of myself as priority, realizing everything else in life can wait. Without a healthy me, living is not the same. I love, and my happiness depends, on cooking even more. Although I couldn’t eat and taste for over six months, my sense of smell was heightened, and I never stopped cooking. It gave me so much joy just watching my family and friends enjoy the dishes I cooked, without even tasting. Now that I am recovered enough to be able to eat real food again, each bite of food is so exciting. Tongue cancer actually made me treasure eating and food on a new level.

Looking Back at Some of the Dishes That Helped Chef Shirley Win Season 1 of 'House of Knives'

Throughout the season, Shirley put on a culinary master class, pairing creativity with technical ability. Below, we take a look at some of her expertly crafted dishes from the inaugural season of House of Knives.

Singapore Style Chili Dungeness Crab With Crab-Fat Fried Rice Salt-Cured Nopales

This dish consists of a spicy tomato sauce with lots of aromatic lemongrass and ginger, stir-fried with Dungeness crab. Shirley harvests the crab fat to make a crab fat fried rice to serve with it. For this challenge, she had to use a competitor’s signature ingredient, of which she chose to use nopales from chef Claudette Zepeda.

“I call it my husband’s birthday crab cause I don’t bake. So for my husband’s birthday, instead of baking him a cake, I’ve been making him his national dish for the past 10 years.” —Chef Shirley Chung

“There's so much elegance that Chef Chung has given us with this dish, but also somehow personalized that as well.” —Host Scott Conant

“I've been on a lot of Singaporean crab, and this is a very, very good one. I love the duo that she’s done here.” —Chef Judy Joo

Suya-Crusted Beef Tenderloin With Crispy Shallots and Garlic

This soya-crusted beef tenderloin is lightly seared on the outside and rare inside, with crispy shallots and garlic, a fundamental of Asian cooking. Fish sauce, soy sauce and all the aromatic oils create a complex, rich dressing.

“This is a dish I’m just making up today. I have global training in French, Italian and Spanish cuisine. Balancing flavors, spices and texture is my specialty, so this is my chance to show the judges all I can do.” —Chef Shirley Chung

“I love that hot oil, soy vinaigrette, the texture of the crispy shallots in the peanuts as well … there are some good flavors here.” —Host Scott Conant

Open-Faced Steamed Dumpling With Beef Siu Mai and Bacon Tomato Jam

To make sure these siu mai are packed with flavor, Chef Chung uses a mix of oyster sauce, smoked shoyu, and Shaoxing wine to create a filling. She then tops the open-faced dumplings off with her renowned bacon tomato jam for a sweet and savory finish.

“As a Chinese-American, brunch for me means dim sum, so I wanted to make an open-faced steamed dumpling with bacon tomato jam. So, again, it’s like my Chinese-American spin. I am famous for my bacon tomato jam, so sweet and savory is what I’m going for. I’m the dumpling queen of Los Angeles, so I better represent.” —Chef Shirley Chung

“These are perfectly shaped dumplings.” —Chef Judy Joo

“The dumpling queen. That’s her name for a reason. That’s a good dumpling. And the sauce works. You get the garlic, you get that touch of sesame, but then you get this sweet, acidic, smoky bacon flavor.” —Host Scott Conant

“She’s just so in her comfort zone, and it shows.” —Chef Marcus Samuelsson

Emperor-Style Milk Broth, Braised Cabbage and Ham With Seared Scallops and XO Sauce

To make this dish, Shirley had to lightly sweat all the vegetables, then add them all together with dry shrimp and scallops so all the aromatics slowly seeped into the broth.

“In the Qing Dynasty, only the emperor would get to enjoy this dish because milk used to be such a delicacy. That’s why it’s called imperial-style milk broth.” —Chef Shirley Chung

“Feels like an amazingly grandiose dish, but at the same time, it’s cabbage and milk … I think the scallop here really is the jewel of this dish. I mean, it is cooked perfectly. And that heat from the XO, it’s beautiful. It just rounds it out.” —Chef Judy Joo

Opah in Fish Fragrant Sauce (Spicy Garlic) With Duck Fat Cabbage

To make this dish, Shirley slowly melted the cabbage in a duck fat sauce until it became velvety and provided a sweet and savory canvas to present the opah fish.

“All my Chinese cooking training was from my grandmother. I know that I’m going to bring my grandmother’s flavor into this.” —Chef Shirley Chung

“I think it’s stunning. We have those beautiful layers of textures and colors … Chef Chung is showing what a masterful chef she is. The cabbage gives you this almost risotto vibe, exactly the kind of pillow you want this fish to land on.” —Chef Marcus Samuelsson

“It’s cooked really nicely … and using that duck fat and that cabbage, it complements the oiliness of the fish, but then she cuts that oil with this beautiful glaze that’s like sour-sweet on top of the fish, and it really brings the entire dish together. This dish is practically hypnotic.” —Chef Judy Joo