"My favorite competition so far": House of Knives winner Chef Shirley Chung opens up about her victory and battling cancer

House of Knives Season 1 announced the winner on Tuesday, May 6, 2025. The Food Network show's debut season crowned the winner, Chef Shirley Chung. The exciting finale of the show, hosted by Scott Conant, revealed a grand prize of $100,000 for the winner.

Sharing her excitement and happiness, Chef Shirley Chung took to the social media platform Instagram. On May 9, 2025, she shared a post featuring herself sitting on the throne and wearing the crown.

She captioned the post stating how she became the "first Queen" of the Food Network show. She also revealed that it has been her favorite competition:

"And the crown goes to …. I won! I became the first Queen of the House of Knives @foodnetwork This is the beginning of a series of battles that I fought hard and won. This is my favorite competition so far, not only I got to compete with a group of amazing formidable chefs, but also got to cook my own style of food without restrictions."

Food Network's House of Knives Season 1: Chef Shirley Chung won the show's debut season

On May 6, 2025, House of Knives Season 1 concluded and crowned Chef Shirley Chung as the winner. Each episode on the show features six "elite" chefs, and they compete in "high-stakes" challenges. Fans get to witness unique cultures, food influences, and chefs' personal stories.

Chef Shirley Chung has been on Top Chef's two seasons, and is popular as "Dumpling Queen." After winning the show's first season, she opened up about battling cancer via her Instagram. She mentioned the "fighting" spirit and wrote about her stage 4 tongue cancer that she beat recently.

"For those of you know me, you know I LOVE this type of a little over top,fun, silly setting! We shot this in the summer of 2023, riding on my winning fighting spirit, I beat the Triple Threat Titans, and most recently I beat stage 4 tongue cancer. I Have Arrived."

While her family has mostly doctors, she has a business degree and has also worked in Silicon Valley. However, after she felt unfulfilled at her work, she went to the California Culinary Academy and realized her true calling was cooking. That was when she decided to become a chef professionally.

Her official bio on Food Network describes her as:

"A fierce competitor on Top Chef for two seasons, chef Shirley Chung has earned the trust of culinary legends like Thomas Keller, Guy Savoy and José Andrés, who have put their restaurants in her capable hands. Known as the "Dumpling Queen," she brings bold flavors, precision and an unstoppable drive to House of Knives."

She confessed to having done a "lot of" cooking competitions. However, nothing like House of Knives. She said that it was such a "high level."

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Fans can stream the House of Knives Season 1 episode on Food Network.

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