Shirley Chung

Chef Shirley Chung, also known as “The Dumpling Queen of Los Angeles,” is the founder of Dumpling Mafia, where she showcases her Chinese heritage, signature dumplings, and progressive Chinese-American cuisine through pop-ups, products and other culinary partnerships.
A native of Beijing, and a proud Chinese-American, Chef Shirley Chung brings a playfulness and refinement of flavors to her culinary creations. She attended the California Culinary Academy San Francisco and was trained in classic French, Italian, Latin and Chinese cuisines working with Thomas Keller at Bouchon, Guy Savoy, Mario Batali at Carnevino, and Jose Andres at China Poblano in Las Vegas.
In 2013, Shirley was a chef contestant on Bravo’s Top Chef: New Orleans where she finished in the Top 3 and was invited to compete again in 2016 on Top Chef: Charleston where she was awarded as the runner up. From there her culinary journey took off.
In 2014, she became Chef Partner at Twenty Eight Modern Chinese. In 2018, she authored her debut cookbook, "Chinese Heritage Cooking from My American Kitchen," and concurrently launched Ms Chi Cafe in Culver City with her husband, Jimmy Lee. In 2019, Shirley served as the inaugural chef at Abernethy's, a chef-driven community restaurant at the Music Center in downtown Los Angeles, and was invited to serve on the Council’s Culinary Advisory Committee for the Emerging Chefs Program in 2023.
A passionate advocate for the AAPI community, Shirley is part of AAPI City of Los Angeles Task Force and TeachAAPI for children.
In May 2024, Shirley was diagnosed with stage 4 squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue, a severe and aggressive form of oral cancer. The tumor, hidden under her tongue, had spread rapidly and affected her lymph nodes. The recommended course of treatment was surgery, with 100% removal of her tongue and lymph nodes, which had a 50% survival rate. As a chef, Shirley was devastated and asked about other
options. She was told of a “unicorn” treatment that cured fellow chef, Grant Achatz through radiation and chemo. Shirley chose to keep her tongue and fight. She closed her California restaurant, Ms, Chi Cafe, and left her home, moving cross country to Chicago to pursue treatment. Following nine weeks of 27 rounds of chemotherapy, 50 sessions of radiation, and a continuous 24-hour chemo drip, Shirley was declared 100% in remission! Shirley 2.0 was born and in addition to her returning to the culinary world, Shirley has become a public advocate for people who are going through cancer. She is now working with the American Cancer Society as their “Champion of Hope”, sharing her journey and hoping to bring more light to the importance of cancer research.
Shirley’s TV appearances include regular appearances on The Food Network such as Guy’s Grocery Games and Guy’s Ranch Kitchen; competing on seasons 3,4, 5 and 7 of Tournament of Champions and Tournament of Champions Holiday; and being the first winner of the new competition show House of Knives; She has also served as a judge and mentor on Top Chef Amateurs, Chopped, Top Chef Family Style, FOX’s Hell’s Kitchen and HBO Max’s The Big Brunch; and guest chef appearances on the TODAY Show, the Good Dish, Hallmark’s Home & Family Show, Tastemade’s Make This Tonight, The Steve Harvey Show, TBS’ Dinner and a Movie, and more. She has also been featured in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, People Magazine, Food & Wine Magazine, Las Vegas Review Journal, The NY Observer and many more publications.
She has also partnered with several national brands including Kraft, Toyota, Lee Kum Kee, Dreamworks and Disney. She is the number one seller on Goldbelly for frozen dumplings and is the original creator of the now ubiquitous cheeseburger potsticker.

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