Today we’d like to introduce you to Dory Fung.
Dory, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My entire life has been around food. My father is a chef and now, I am the 5th generation chef in my family. My family owns a restaurant called Fung’s Kitchen. It is a Chinese restaurant that serves live seafood and also dim sum. I waited tables there when I was in college. Funny thing is that I never wanted to be a chef or anything restaurant related, I wanted to be an elementary school teacher. I signed up for a baking class and after three years of studying education at UofH, I decided to enroll at HCC and graduated with a Baking & Pastry degree in 2008.
One of my first jobs was at Hotel ZaZa. I decided to switch to restaurants for a few years and was on the opening team for both Stella Sola and Bootsie’s. Later, I moved to San Antonio for 13 months to become the lead baker at Marriott Riverwalk/Rivercenter. I think during this time I learned the most about myself as a young chef. I was away from family and working insane hours. All a sudden, I went from serving 100 people a night to serving 3000 people a day at both hotels.
In 2013, I moved back to Houston to take the position as Assistant Pastry Chef at Houston Country Club. I stayed there for two years. During that time, I also starting teaching pastry classes at Houston Community College. It was a dream come true since I always wanted to teach. I am currently in my sixth year of teaching.
In 2014, I started Banh Mi Cookoff to raise money to benefit a local charity- BPSOS Houston. Two years later, I started Big Bao Battle to raise money for another local charity OCA Houston. With both events, I wanted to showcase Houston’s amazing food scene with a friendly food competition between local chefs. 100% of the net proceeds go directly to both non-profit groups.
Some people might say I’m crazy but I’ve always held a pastry chef position while teaching at the same time. I was the Head Pastry Chef at Yauatcha, I helped on the pastry team at Aqui, and most recently, I was the Executive Pastry Chef at Poitin. I guess you can say I love opening new restaurants. There is something about the craziness that I like. Working 90+ hours a week, sure! I feel very lucky to have been surrounded by very strong chefs over the past 15 years of my career.
Recently, I was working on a pop-up series with some local chefs called Secret Taste. The past six months, we have been working with Nan Properties to create a new dining experience unique to Houston. We paired high-end food with over the top homes. Our first dinner was inside a 5.5 million home and the most recent one was at a 9 million dollar home.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
One of the hardest struggles is definitely lack of personal time. We work long hours with average pay and that is one of the hardest things to explain to someone that isn’t in the food industry. Sometimes, relationships are lost along the way. Being a chef isn’t about the money. It has to be something that you really love. I feel very lucky to have such a great father that continues to encourage me and support me during my entire pastry career.
JuiceWell – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Currently, I am the Director of Operations for JuiceWell. I am very happy to join this growing company as they expand to more locations. Right now they are located in Southside Place, Greenway Plaza, and Hedwig Village. I am excited to help expand their current energy snack program as well as help create new flavors of organic juices in the future. I would love to create more high protein and allergy-free bites.
The decision to join this company is very personal to me. A few years ago, I was able to lose 25 lbs from a 10-day juice cleanse. Last month, someone very close to me was hospitalized and I reached out to JuiceWell to help me create a custom daily smoothie for her. I was so grateful for the education that I was given. I wanted to be a part of this juice family. What sets JuiceWell apart from others is that they use local fruits and vegetables and also organic when possible. I am so happy about this sudden lifestyle change, I went from eating cookies and cake scraps every day to drinking juices and eating acai bowls. Perks of the job right?
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
As a teacher, I feel successful when I see my students come out and be the best chef they can be. It warms my heart to see their names in the media and visit restaurants that they are working at and/or have opened.
For me, success is not defined by the money you make. I feel that I have succeeded when I am standing in the middle of a room full of people from one of my charity events knowing that I was able to help them raise money for non-profit. Success is selling out tickets every single year.
Pricing:
- Cold Press Juices $10
- Acai Bowl $9
Contact Info:
- Website: https://shopjuicewell.com/
- Email: info@juicewellonline.com
- Instagram: JuiceWellHouston
Image Credit:
Goldthread
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