Inside Food Network's Chef Dynasty: House Of Fang With Kathy Fang
The podcast "Food Network Obsessed" interviewed chef Kathy Fang, a "Chopped" winner who now stars in her own show, "Chef Dynasty: House of Fang." The six-episode TV docuseries follows the chef and her family at their San Franciscan restaurant Fang. Her father Peter Fang (who has been described as "the godfather of Chinese cuisine"), started his restaurant House of Nanking after immigrating to San Francisco in 1988. He and Kathy would open Fang together two decades later, per Food Network.
According to Kathy's website, she enjoyed being around food and learning from her father as a child. But her family wanted her to go into a different line of work. She studied business management and worked in the field for several years before realizing that an office job was not for her. She enrolled in Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School Los Angeles in 2006. Three years later, she started Fang with her father. The restaurant's menu features Chinese fusion items such as veggie eggrolls with honey mustard sauce and sesame chicken with sweet potato, crispy chicken coated in a sweet soy glaze.
In "Chef Dynasty," Kathy gives audiences a look at the trials and tribulations of expanding the business as she tries to add more fusion items to the menu while still holding up Chinese culinary traditions. During the podcast, Fang shared how she thought people would be able to relate to the show.
A taste of food and family
Sharing her thoughts on "Chef Dynasty: House of Fang" with "Food Network Obsessed," Kathy Fang said that even though the show was "about a Chinese family, it's really something that should, I hope, resonate with people of all backgrounds and all ethnicities." Many people, regardless of background, can probably relate to the struggles of pleasing their parents or trying to work with others who might be stuck in their ways.
The story of Fang restaurant arguably offers some insights into how people and places shape each other over time. Speaking with Dining Traveler in 2018, the Food Network star explained that the idea behind the eatery "came from all my travels and exposure to food in Asia. ... Chinese food is constantly evolving there and that's what I want Fang to be like." And in her recent podcast interview, she expressed a desire for "Chef Dynasty" to influence how others see San Francisco. As someone who grew up there, she has noticed "a lot of negative" changes over the years related to homelessness and real estate woes. She hopes the show "can remind people this is a beautiful city."
Additionally, Kathy Fang wants audiences to see that the eatery is "not a venture with other people, there's no capital from other people. The menu, everything from House of Nanking to Fang is literally just my dad, my mom, and I. We are the chefs. Every recipe, every sauce, and everything that you're tasting comes from us."