Shirley Chung’s Top Chef family has rallied around her, after she announced her heartbreaking Stage 4 tongue cancer diagnosis.
The 47-year-old chef, who has appeared on Top Chef (a finalist in Season 11), Tournament of Champions and Top Chef: Amateurs, shared the news on Friday.
She shaved her head in preparation for chemo and shared the process on her Instagram.
The chef also announced that Ms. Chi Cafe, the restaurant she opened in Culver City, California in 2018, will be closing next month due to her treatment.
Her posts received countless comments of support from Top Chef contestants including Richard Blais, Stephanie Izard, Jen Carroll, Adrienne Cheatham, Brother Luck, Melissa King, Leeann Wong, Nini Nguyen, Nina Compton and more.
Shirley Chung’s Top Chef family has rallied around her, after she announced her heartbreaking Stage 4 tongue cancer diagnosis and the closure of her restaurant; (L-R) Brian Huskey, Carlos Gaytan, Chung, Nicholas Elmi, and Nina Compton seen in a still from Top Chef season 11
The 47-year-old chef, who has appeared on Top Chef (a finalist in Season 11), Tournament of Champions and Top Chef: Amateurs, shared the news on Friday
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Top Chef star Shirley Chung reveals heartbreaking health diagnosis
Blais wrote, ‘You are inspiring and strong ❤️ ‘ underneath her post.
‘Love you friend!!! Keep being badass and staying as positive as you always do! Hugs from me and Ernie!’ Izard sweetly shared.
Longtime host Gail Simmons wrote, ‘You are a beautiful and extraordinary unicorn. Always have been. I am so proud of you. #f**kcancer.’
Frequent Top Chef judge and French chef Hubert Keller wrote, ‘You both are amazing, you both will get through this together. ♥️ Sending you all my love.’
‘I love you. You got this. ❤️’ wrote Wong.
Buddha Lo concurred, writing, ‘You’ve got this.’ Carroll added, ‘be the next unicorn xoxo’ in reference to Shirley’s treatment.
‘You have always been the feisty sister, I love you and we all are here for you,’ King added.
‘You are a badass and I’m sending you so much love ,’ Nguyen wrote.
‘You got this one you are very strong chef,’ Carlos Gaytan added. ‘Oh Shirley! You look beautiful♥️. You got this,’ Shirley’s season 11 pal Nina wrote.
Season six Top Chef winner Michael Voltaggio wrote, ‘We’ve seen you kick plenty of a**, all while smiling ear to ear. we’re all here to back you up chef!’
Her posts received countless comments of support from Top Chef contestants including Richard Blais, Stephanie Izard, Jen Carroll, Adrienne Cheatham, Brother Luck, Melissa King, Leeann Wong, Nini Nguyen, and more
‘You have always been the feisty sister, I love you and we all are here for you,’ King added
Longtime host Gail Simmons wrote, ‘You are a beautiful and extraordinary unicorn. Always have been. I am so proud of you. #f**kcancer’
Frequent Top Chef judge and French chef Hubert Keller wrote, ‘You both are amazing, you both will get through this together. ♥️ Sending you all my love’
‘Love you friend!!! Keep being badass and staying as positive as you always do! Hugs from me and Ernie!’ Izard sweetly shared
‘I love you. You got this. ❤️’ wrote Wong
Buddha Lo concurred, writing, ‘You’ve got this❤️ ‘
Carroll added, ‘be the next unicorn xoxo’ in reference to Shirley’s treatment
‘You are a badass and I’m sending you so much love ♥️,’ Nini Nguyen wrote
‘You got this one you are very strong chef,’ commented chef Carlos Gaytan
‘Oh Shirley! You look beautiful. You got this,’ Shirley’s season 11 pal Nina wrote
Season six Top Chef winner Michael Voltaggio wrote, ‘We’ve seen you kick plenty of a**, all while smiling ear to ear. we’re all here to back you up chef!’
Tournament of Champions alums also reached out, including Amanda Freitag, who wrote, ‘SHIRLEY!!!! You are such an incredible human and I know you are a unicorn and will beat this with style and grace you are such an inspiration for so many’
Judge Alex Guarnaschelli wrote, ‘Sending you so much love. Don’t be a chef at this time. Be a person who’s cool with getting support and love. You are loved all around you. Sending you positive vibes. Very brave of you to share with us.’
‘One day at a time and you will look back at this 10 years from now and smile with defiance,’ chef Grant Achatz wrote
Shirley wrote back, ‘Yes chef. I am continuing to check off my prep list one thing at the time. Your words of encouragement helped me got over my initial shock. I will look back and smile!’
Tournament of Champions alums also reached out, including Amanda Freitag, who wrote, ‘SHIRLEY!!!! You are such an incredible human and I know you are a unicorn and will beat this with style and grace you are such an inspiration for so many. I love you and your chef community is here to support you!’
Judge Alex Guarnaschelli wrote, ‘Sending you so much love. Don’t be a chef at this time. Be a person who’s cool with getting support and love. You are loved all around you. Sending you positive vibes. Very brave of you to share with us.’
‘One day at a time and you will look back at this 10 years from now and smile with defiance,’ chef Grant Achatz wrote.
Shirley wrote back, ‘Yes chef. I am continuing to check off my prep list one thing at the time. Your words of encouragement helped me got over my initial shock. I will look back and smile!’
Shirley’s video showed her taking two big swipes across her head with the clippers, as she joked about what kind of egg her head looked like.
She’s told, ‘You don’t have to smile, Shirley,’ but she insists, ‘That’s automatic. Camera? I smile.’
She adds, ‘Surprisingly, shaving it off for my mentally… it felt better than pulling it off in the morning,’ adding, ‘It’s kind of sexy too.’
Chung also left a lengthy caption on Instagram, where she explained how her diagnosis came to be.
‘Hiiiii loves, I have some personal news to share with you. Since last year December, I had a series of dental issues, I bit my tongue severely; I fractured my tooth and had to extract it and get an implant… we thought it was because I am a heavy teeth grinder,’ she began.
‘And I was too busy to see a EMT specialist. The end of May, ulcers erupted in my mouth and my oral surgeon discovered a hidden tumor under my tongue,’ she said.
She also shared a post through her Ms. Chi Cafe announcing the restaurant will close next week so she can focus on treatment
She shared a number of snaps, including one with her staff
‘In light of Chef Shirley’s diagnosis, we have made the difficult decision to close Ms Chi so she can focus on recovery. Ms Chi’s last day of operation will be Sunday, August 4th,’ the post read
Shirley shaved her head in preparation for chemo and shared the process on her Instagram
She adds, ‘Surprisingly, shaving it off for my mentally… it felt better than pulling it off in the morning,’ adding, ‘It’s kind of sexy too’
‘A few days later, I was diagnosed, stage 4 tongue cancer, as cancer cells also spread into my lymph nodes,’ she revealed to her
‘I was very calm when doctors delivered the news, as a chef, I’ve always thrive under pressure. ,’ she admitted.
‘I was extremely focused on getting all the tests and scans as fast as possible, so I can start on the treatment plans,’ she said.
She continued that on Sunday June 2nd, ‘Dr. Ho, my lead oncologist at Cedar Sinai called to discuss treatment plans,’ adding she, ‘broke down, crying, trying to put thoughts together and ask questions but physically couldn’t.’
‘All I heard was “option 1, surgery, 100% removal of your tongue” … Jimmy was holding it together for both of us, asking if we have any option that I can keep my tongue and the survival rates .’
She was told, ‘There is another option, which was a unicorn case, at University of Chicago, they cured a patient (a chef!) with radiation and chemo, but you will have to go to Chicago.’
‘Higher survival rate, or keep my tongue? I chose to keep my tongue, I am a fighter, I am a chef, I can be that unicorn too,’ she said.
‘I just finished 6 weeks of Chemo (and have many more to go), going to the hospital 4 times a week for injections, it’s like a full time job,’ Chung insisted.
‘My tumor is shrinking, my speech is much better and I can eat most normal food now. I am learning to lean on others, to let go, to be more vulnerable,’ she continued.
Chung admitted, ‘it took me 2 weeks of contemplating to decide to tell my parents about my cancer, only my close circle of friends and my sister have known until now.’
‘I am learning, I can be strong 98% of the time, it’s ok to be not ok. I have a tough long road to recovery in front of me. Your love and support will carry me through. Cheer me on, Shirley Chung 2.0 will be reborn in 2025!’ she concluded.
‘I just finished 6 weeks of Chemo (and have many more to go), going to the hospital 4 times a week for injections, it’s like a full time job,’ Chung shared in her post
She also gave a positive update: ‘My tumor is shrinking, my speech is much better and I can eat most normal food now. I am learning to lean on others, to let go, to be more vulnerable’
She also shared a post through her Ms. Chi Cafe announcing the restaurant will close next week so she can focus on treatment.
‘In light of Chef Shirley’s diagnosis, we have made the difficult decision to close Ms Chi so she can focus on recovery. Ms Chi’s last day of operation will be Sunday, August 4th,’ the post began.
‘We are incredibly grateful to each and every one of you—our staff, supporters, and fans. We have truly enjoyed spreading the dumpling love over the last several years and calling Culver City our home!’ the post continued.
‘Please come by, say hi, and enjoy our menu before we close. We will still be operating our normal business hours until August 4th! August 14th and 15th will be the final days for @goldbelly orders, so now is the time to stock up. This is a temporary pause on orders, and we will be back!’ they continued.
‘Please continue to follow this account and @chfshirleychung for more updates—more dumplings will be coming!’ the post concluded.