Within the past two years, the chef Shirley Chung was diagnosed with stage four tongue cancer, she went through treatment, and she entered remission. Upon diagnosis, she was given a 50% chance of survivial. This year, she opened Night Rooster, a modern Chinese restaurant in Dallas.
I met Shirley in New York a few months back and was immediately enveloped in her warmth and energy. She told me that cooking is the love of her life, and so you might imagine what a tongue cancer diagnosis must have felt like for her. What she’s personally gone through and handled the last couple years is pretty amazing. I have mixed feelings about the term “resilient” when it comes to human beings— a talk for another time— but I will say this: it’s a term that Shirley basically can own at this point.
Shirley was born in Beijing and immigrated to the US when she was 17; she was trained in classic French and Italian cuisine and has worked and opened restaurants for José Andrés, Thomas Keller, and Guy Savoy. She’s a star in many ways, and I think you’ll feel inspired by the energy and enthusiasm that she brought to today’s conversation, which, by the way, is just Shirley and me — Mark is back with us next week.
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