After growing up cooking in the kitchen of her family’s famous San Francisco restaurant, House of Nanking, it’s safe to say Chef Kathy Fang knows a thing or two about creating delicious food. The up-and-coming culinary star runs her own successful Fang Restaurant now – launched in 2009 with her father, Chef Peter Fang – and has also competed on a number of Food Network shows including Cutthroat Kitchen, Guy’s Grocery Games, and CHOPPED – the latter of which she is a two-time champion!
To her, food and cooking are pretty essential ingredients in Asian culture – an idea that is also evident in the latest cultural, Hollywood hit Crazy Rich Asians. Drawing inspiration from the film, Chef Kathy Fang has cooked up her own decadent dishes, paying homage to the indulgent threads of the movie. As our latest Travel Influences spotlight, Fang takes us through her food and travel inspirations and journeys…
- How does travel influence the menu at your restaurant?
My travels influence my menu a lot. I always come back with fresh ideas and inspiration from my travels on how to tweak traditional Chinese dishes and make it my own. New spices, new ingredients, new flavors, new ways of serving dishes. You can always expect a few new dishes to pop up off the menu when I come back from a trip.
2. How did you get inspired to make your “crazy rich” dishes?
[Crazy Rich Asians] got me hungry, especially watching the street food scenes. It made me think of comfort food, specifically noodles, which is one of my favorite things to eat whether done as an Asian dish or as an Italian dish. Nothing beats the perfect bowl of noodles and in true Crazy Rich Asian style, I spiffed up the dishes with some rich decadent ingredients like lobster, Uni, crab.
3. It’s obvious that cooking runs in the family. Between growing up in the kitchen of your family’s restaurant, House of Nanking, and then opening your own establishment with your father, Fang Restaurant, do you feel that food and cooking intertwine your family and culture?
Absolutely! Food is a such a big thing in Asian culture, especially in Chinese families. Every family gathering centers around eating. We don’t do anything else when we get together but cook and eat. My fondest memories growing up have all been centered around cooking with my parents and all my relatives. Wonton wrapping, egg roll wrapping, soups, clay pot rice – everyone has a task and we work as a team. We pay respect to each other by coming to lunches and dinners to share a meal and see each other. I wouldn’t be who I am without all those experiences. Family first always!
4. What was your inspiration behind branching out from the family business and opening up Fang Restaurant?
My inspiration came from all my travels and exposure to food in Asia. I always find new exciting ways of doing things there. Chinese food is constantly evolving there and that’s what I want Fang to be like. Chinese food that evolves over time, where we don’t serve the same dishes that everyone else serves and has been serving for the last 30 years. The food should reflect the chef’s personality and train of thought. As I grow and change over time, so does my food. The food at Fang should evolve over time as I do.
5. As a young adult, you originally pursued a corporate career after studying operations management and entrepreneurship at the University of Southern California. What led to you leaving this behind to enroll in culinary school a few years later?
I felt stifled and bored in the corporate world. I get excited by the thought of creating new things. And in the corporate world, I didn’t get to tap into this passion of mine, this spark and desire to create. I was just another cog in a machine asked to fulfill a responsibility. It was mind-numbing. When I realized that the monthly goodie bag of mislabeled beauty products was what I looked forward to the most when working at Neutrogena, I finally called it quits. I needed something that excites me.
I worked at my dad’s restaurant when I was young and loved it. I love food and I love to create, so it was a no-brainer. Culinary school was the most fun I’ve ever had in any school. It was like playtime every week for 8 hours straight.
6. What’s your top travel tip?
Top travel tip: try to find some kind of offer or activity that involves you experiencing the culture and food of the city through a local. I don’t mean through a tour guide. I mean through an actual local. I did this when I traveled to Vietnam and Italy and it allowed me to make this unforgettable connection to people outside of my race and my culture. It makes you realize how similar we all are at the end of the day and how beautiful our world is when it’s filled with some many different kinds of people, culture and food.
You can discover more about Chef Kathy’s journey by checking out her website, which offers insight and recipes inspired by her travels and culinary experience!
