Chef
Franky Ho
- Discipline
- Chef
- Based in
- San Francisco, California, United States
i. Biography
Franky Ho is the chef of Four Kings in San Francisco, where Cantonese cuisine is handled with discipline and pace. The work reads as exacting without being stiff: timing, texture, and finish are all doing real work on the plate.
Today
At Mister Jiu's, Franky Ho built the base for a kitchen approach that favors structure, clean timing, and clear movement from first look to final bite. That early stretch established the terms of the cooking now seen in their work: precision with momentum, and detail that stays in service of the dish. Since 2024, Franky has been chef of Four Kings. There, Cantonese cuisine is treated as a living practice rather than a fixed reference point. The result is food that keeps the recognizable rhythms of the style while allowing room for clarity, warmth, and control. In Franky Ho’s hands, technique is visible, but never allowed to flatten the table experience.
Signature
Franky's signature dishes include fried squab, Mapo Spaghetti, Huckleberry Silken Tofu, mapo tofu spaghetti, and Sichuan cabbage showered in scallion dust. Read together, they show a cook working across texture and register: crisp against tender, rich against delicate, familiar forms pushed into new shape without losing their center. Fried squab points to control over browning and richness, while Huckleberry Silken Tofu sits on the other end of the spectrum, leaning into softness. Mapo Spaghetti and mapo tofu spaghetti carry the force of the mapo name into a different format, keeping the flavor signal while changing the frame. Sichuan cabbage showered in scallion dust adds another line of attack, with brightness and aroma in the foreground. The common thread is balance. Franky Ho’s cooking depends on contrast, but not as a stunt; the dishes are composed to hold attention through seasoning, texture, and restraint. At Four Kings, that approach gives Cantonese cuisine a clear, contemporary voice without cutting it loose from its familiar pull.
Profile updated August 2026
FAQ
Asked of Franky
Where did Franky Ho work before?
Earlier in their career, Franky Ho worked at Mister Jiu's.
What is Franky Ho known for?
Cantonese cuisine.
