Our History
The House of Dumplings Journey
Growing up
Vicky's love for dumplings started from a young age.
She grew up in a Hong Kong apartment full of delicious food. Vicky and her mama used to make and eat dumplings together, which is where she learnt the value of fresh, flavoursome and hand-crafted food.
Becoming a chef
Vicky always wanted to be a chef but her family insisted on university first. After her studies in Otago, Vicky became a 'dishie' and fell in love with the chaos of the kitchen. She went to cheffing school and worked in various places across Wellington.
Vicky used to make her mum's dumplings for her chef mates when she had them over for dinner. They were instantly hooked and urged Vicky to start making them commercially.
A quick detour
With her dream in mind, Vicky went to the Gulf of Carpentaria in Australia and worked as a cook on a prawn trawler. The work was tough but she managed to save enough to kick off her small business.
Humble beginnings
Originally called The Dumpling House, Vicky started her company by selling dumplings at the Wellington City Market. It took 17 hours to prepare for her first day at the market, and the dumplings sold out in only two. They were a hit!
House of Dumplings
After 2 1/2 years serving Wellingtonians from her portable bike stall, Vicky opened our shop/production kitchen on Taranaki St. We first started stocking our dumplings in Moore Wilson's, and then more supermarkets hopped on board.
Supreme Award Winner
House of Dumplings products are now sold in 150 supermarkets across the country.
In 2020, we won the Frozen Category in the NZ Artisan Food Awards and in 2021, we took out the overall Supreme Award.
Four Gold Artisan Awards
In 2022 we took home four Inspire+ NZ Gold Artisan Awards for our Chilli Oil, Hot Chilli Oil, Garlic Chilli Oil and our King Salmon Dumplings.
Our King Salmon Dumplings were also Finalists in the Frozen Category at the NZ Food Awards.
House of Dumplings were Finalists in the Logistics & Trade category of the Wellington Regional Business Excellence Awards.
Past Collaborations
We’ve done some pretty awesome things over the years. If you want to dig even further, check out the links below…
We gifted 500 dumplings to the Wellington City Mission in honour of their new partnership with The Food Show.
Vicky shared some of her secret ‘dumpling queen’ recipes.
Part of a profile on local food brands that originated from farmer’s markets.
‘Things I wish I knew before starting my own business.’
Collab with business.govt about the ups and downs of growing a business.
Called for tighter country of origin labelling laws to support local food producers during the pandemic.
Featured on RNZ’s Nine to Noon Podcast.
Winner of the Best Artisan Food & Drink award in the Capital magazine Best of Wellington 2021 awards.
Winner of the Small Business Driver initiative and interviewed on The AM Show.
Vicky was profiled in Stuff’s Life & Style section.
Vicky and House of Dumplings featured in TVNZ 1’s TV Show Sik Fan Lah showcasing the impact Chinese immigrants have on NZ food culture.
Vicky was featured in Supermarket News in 2023, discussing the challenges of running a small, ethical food business
