What Chef Jon Kung Swears By in the Kitchen (2026)
Key takeaways
- Welcome to Starter Pack, a gear-obsessed series that gives WIRED readers a peek into how notable personalities live, shop, and tinker.
- It's become a conversation piece at the dinner parties Kung hosts at home.
- That layered, third-culture palate is exactly what has made Kung one of the most compelling food personalities of his generation, with over 2 million online followers.
Why this matters: a development in AI with implications for how people work, create, and decide.
Courtesy of Anyday; Bakfee; Silivac; Terra Kaffe Comment Loader Save Story Save this story Comment Loader Save Story Save this story When I ask influencer chef Jon Kung to name the purchase they regret most, there's no deliberation. “In my early twenties, I bought this used SMEG fridge,” the 42-year-old Chinese American Tik Tok creator tells me. “It's got this giant British flag on it, and I still have it. I've stuck Sex Pistols, Ozzy Osbourne, and Spice Girls stickers on the sides to try to make it a little better.”
Welcome to Starter Pack, a gear-obsessed series that gives WIRED readers a peek into how notable personalities live, shop, and tinker.
It's become a conversation piece at the dinner parties Kung hosts at home. Every holiday season, Kung whips up their Chinese takeout feast; it's a seven-course spread that maps their upbringing across Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Toronto, and Detroit—mapo tofu, pumpkin and lotus root curry, superior stock wonton noodle soup, crab rangoons, Balinese crab fried rice, mushroom lo mein, and, for the grand finale, Cantonese roast duck with cherry duck sauce. And, obviously, dessert.