Charles Hsu

Restaurateur Charles Hsu noticed that, of all the Asian restaurants operating in the United States, only eight per cent are chains. And so the former actor established TTFB in 1990, opening his first restaurant, Thai Town Cuisine, in Taipei. Looking to solve the difficulty of scaling up Asian restaurants with its numerous ingredients and complex cooking techniques, Hsu developed what they call the world’s first Asian Cuisine Standardization System.

While ingredient uniformity and a data-based kitchen management system are key innovations, the most novel is the chef training system inspired by taekwondo’s belt levels. The 11-armband colour training system guarantees that a chef can be trained in just 13 months, shaving years off traditional apprenticeship programs. As of October 2022, TTFB operates eight casual dining concepts with 141 branches on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and is expected to reach its target of 200 stores in 2025.

Unfazed by the pandemic, Hsu led TTFB in building the largest cloud kitchen, “Infinity Kitchen”, in Taiwan and his own fleet for offering take-out/delivery services. He also announced that he will be returning to the overseas market, with his eyes set on Southern California, USA in 2023. Amid rapid changes and the threats that come with Covid-19, Hsu insisted on no layoffs, no pay cuts, and no unpaid leaves. He won the Best CEO Award from the Foundations for Public Relations in 2022.