Chairman Dishes up Philosophy
A Recipe from The Heart

THL turns 46 this year. For nearly half a century, Chairman HT David Chen has tirelessly led his company forward. Today, he invites us to THL's Food Service Kitchen, where he puts aside the gravitas of chairman and dons a chef uniform. As Chef David, he shares a secret family recipe made with high-quality spices from THL-represented food brand McCormick, along with his thoughts on running a successful business.

A family specialty dish conveys the heritage not only of good food, but also the values and stories of the family across the generations.

THL began life as Chunghsing Food, a company founded by Chairman Chen's father Mr. Chen Hung-pin. Chairman Chen carried on his father's entrepreneurial spirit of hard work when he founded THL in 1974. On the day of the cooking presentation, he chose to make his family's special "prawns with white wine and Sichuan pepper" to share the spirit and good taste of a dish handed down for generations.

Growing up in Keelung, Chairman Chen developed a unique love for prawns. "As a kid, I would help feed wood into the kitchen stove as my mother cooked. When I grew up, I realized how tough things were for her and started thinking about helping her with the New Year's Eve dinner," he recalls.

From an early age, Chairman Chen learned to cook by watching his mom. His first contribution to the family New Year's Eve dinner was "prawns in tomato sauce." Later, he would continue the spirit his father dedicated to Chunghsing Food as leader of the THL team, seeking to build a better life for all on a foundation of trust.

Ingredients have always been the key to good food. "Ingredients are vital in cooking. Use the right ingredients and the taste will be right too," Chairman Chen says. For the cooking demonstration, Chairman Chen's ingredient list included seasonal prawns from Penghu and, for seasoning, Sichuan pepper powder and garlic powder from McCormick, a well-known international brand long represented by THL.

"A good chef needs to constantly innovate and embrace a spirit of trying to create good taste," says Chairman Chen. He also often encourages colleagues in the company's Food Service Division to "boldly try and innovate, share ideas with more young chefs, and inspire each other. That is how we can improve the food service industry together."

With the right ingredients, a good chef can make good food. But it takes time to develop into a good chef. This insight on cooking is similar to THL's business philosophy. "It's the same when building your team: with the right people you'll get the right results," Chairman Chen says.

"How can I make employees feel they are one with the company. How can I make them take personal pride in the company's growth?" Chairman Chen's philosophy of managing people also underlies a much-praised system adopted by THL to encourage shared entrepreneurship within the group. "THL has a wealth of talented people who grow with the company and become key members of our team. Many even end up as shareholder partners in companies created within the group," says Chairman Chen.

As it enters its 46th year, THL has continued to chalk up impressive achievements despite the challenges presented by COVID thanks to the dedicated efforts of its team. The pandemic has deeply affected the market and changed consumer markets and patterns. Still, Chairman Chen sees this as an opportunity. "This situation can help us all overcome past business models and advance in new directions to provide consumers with better products." He also encourages colleagues to embrace new goals and challenges and keep moving forward to even greater achievements.