Din Tai Fung

Collins Alumnus Brings Passion and Palate to Global Restaurant Brand

by Melanie Johnson

A key ingredient in the recipe of James Fu’s success in the restaurant industry was early advice from a mentor to find and follow his passion.

Fu (’18, hospitality management) was deep into STEM classes at Pasadena City College and planning to pursue a degree in engineering when a physics professor observed that Fu had the ability to do the coursework, but he didn’t feel Fu’s love for it.

“He asked me, ‘How would you feel if you didn’t have the passion for it? Would you be OK?’” Fu says.

Fu, who was already working in the restaurant business at the time — he was a server at a hot pot restaurant and later ran a popular boba shop — realized that becoming an engineer was more about pleasing his parents than pursuing his purpose.

What Fu loved was working in restaurants.

“I have always had a passion for serving guests.

That’s what makes me fulfilled,” he says. “It is something you can see directly because you interact with the guests. You can see if they are satisfied. Guest satisfaction is something I really care about.”

Cooking Up Comfort

Fu, who was born in Oakland and raised in Taiwan and Belize, has been working at the popular dumpling chain Din Tai Fung for the past 10 years, putting his guest satisfaction skills to the test. He started as a busser and was promoted to server in a couple of months. The job helped him pay his way through Cal Poly Pomona’s hospitality management program. After earning his degree, Fu advanced to manager, general manager, regional manager and most recently the company’s corporate chef in 2022.

His role involves visiting various locations, mostly in California and the Pacific Northwest, to audit the food and ensure the taste and quality is the same and meets the company’s high standards. He assists with the opening of new restaurants, helps train staff and makes sure the recipes are clear and easy to follow.

Din Tai Fung, which got its start in Taiwan 50 years ago, is now global with more than 170 locations around the world. The United States has 14 locations, with restaurants in Arcadia, Santa Clara and Las Vegas, as well as additional restaurants coming to Downtown Disney and New York in 2024.

Although not a classically trained chef, Fu spent time in his grandma’s teppanyaki restaurant and has learned every aspect of running the restaurant, including the art of crafting Din Tai Fung’s iconic xiao long bao or soup dumpling. Recently, he added a new item to the menu — a chicken soup dumpling inspired by the ultimate comfort dish, chicken noodle soup.

Fu developed and tested 30 to 40 recipes before coming up with the final version, even letting his mom test taste it before it was finalized. Din Tai Fung is known for its pork soup dumplings, but it wanted a recipe that was more in line with what customers in the United States prefer.

“For the American market, pork is not the top choice. Chicken is a better option. That’s why we had the goal to create chicken soup dumplings,” Fu says. “It’s something we had to build from scratch. And it gives you that comfort feeling because you can really taste the chicken noodle soup.”

Dedicated to Service

That desire to give comfort to others is who Fu is, says Margie Jones, dean of The Collins College of Hospitality Management. His hospitable nature and desire to make others happy is something that Jones observed when Fu worked at The Restaurant at Kellogg Ranch (RKR), where he was a student assistant to the instructor.

“It’s an honor to be a student assistant in the restaurant. It shows that you have demonstrated in the course that you have the skillset and ability to lead your peers,” Jones says. “He was wonderful and made the students feel comfortable.”

In Jones’ Wines of the World advanced course, Fu also served as a teaching assistant, preparing food that would pair well with the wines the students were tasting.

“He came with a foundational understanding of cooking,” she says. “If I was doing a French wine and wanted to have roast chicken with it, he knew how to do it. It was second nature for him to take it to a place where it could be easily eaten. It was nicely seasoned. He has a good palate.”

Fu still gives back to CPP, participating in career fairs and volunteering to serve as Professor for a Day. He credits the hospitality program, particularly his time at The Restaurant at Kellogg Ranch with helping him get to his current level of success.

“I loved RKR so much,” he said. “At RKR, I started as front of the house, but I needed to challenge myself. I told the professor I wanted to go to the back of the house, to do food preparation. I still implement a lot of the knowledge I learned at Collins today.”