Illustration by Sunflowerman
Johnny Chou
Barista at Craftwork Coffee Co.
Order a latte at Craftwork on Camp Bowie, and you might see a swan swimming in your cup. Creating whimsical latte art is just one of Johnny Chou’s many talents. Born in Taiwan, the 34-year-old barista is a Cordon Bleu-trained chef who has lived on four continents. But his current obsession is delicate, colorful and fragrant: orchids.
“I have over 100 now,” Johnny confesses. “I just like the blooms.” Watering his collection of the notoriously finicky plants can take over two hours. The flowers are a fitting infatuation for the globe-trotting Johnny. Orchids bloom all over the world, from the tropics to the tundra, and they have an amazing ability to adapt to any environment.
Johnny arrived in Fort Worth in 2017 after a long and circuitous journey. “I feel like my life is bound with Texas,” he says. As a teenager, he traveled to Dallas with a school group for several months one summer, visiting tourist spots and studying with locals. “They learned Mandarin, and we learned English,” he recalls.
His first impressions of Texas? “Super hot. When it was raining, there was literally steam coming up from the ground. That was scary for me,” he laughs. “And there were tons of fireflies. That was the first time I had seen fireflies, and it was awesome.”
Johnny returned to the U.S. a few years later to attend San Francisco State University. For the first time, he experienced total immersion in the English language. “I was having a hard time,” he admits. “I felt like it almost killed me. I didn’t even know what my professors were talking about on stage.” With the help of tutors, he made it through a difficult first semester. “I survived … and then later, everything just went so well.”
He returned to Taiwan to complete a year of compulsory military service before being admitted to a prestigious business school. But his heart was elsewhere. “I always wanted to do cooking,” he says. After earning his graduate degree, Johnny enrolled at Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Sydney, Australia, to master classical French cuisine. Five years later, he jumped at the chance to work as a chef in Dublin, Ireland, at the landmark Gresham Hotel. In Dublin, he learned to decipher the Irish accent and prepare local favorites like shepherd’s pie and high tea.
He also met his husband, Jacob. But there was just one problem: Jacob lived an ocean away in Austin; they had connected via the dating website OKCupid. “I didn’t even expect I would meet someone,” Johnny says, “and this guy was so far away on the other side of the earth.” When his chef contract at the hotel ended, he decided to “swing by America” on his way back home to Australia and meet Jacob in person.
As their commitment grew more serious, Johnny began the application procedure for an American visa. That was in 2017 — and the visa approval process is still ongoing today. “We were kind of naïve thinking that it only takes a while,” he says. He had initially purchased a round-trip flight and planned to be in the U.S. for one month while his paperwork was approved. “But once I got in, I couldn’t leave until it was done.”
The couple stayed with Jacob’s mother in Beaumont, where Johnny received his first orchid as a gift from Jacob’s grandmother. Soon they headed to Fort Worth to be near Jacob’s twin sister, getting married shortly after their arrival. Johnny has found his new home to be full of opportunities, friendly people and “food adventures.” As soon as his work permit was approved last year, he applied at Craftwork.
Johnny has always been a coffee lover, but his passion for the barista arts was sparked while working at restaurants with coffee bars. “It was always fascinating to see the baristas pouring shots and making good latte art. I would sneak to the front and ask them a lot of questions and try to make myself a cup of coffee,” he says. “At first I thought it was easy … but it’s not.” Today, he’s a pro. And his secret to creating great latte art? “The foam,” he reveals. But drip-drawing coffee swans isn’t his favorite thing about being a barista at Craftwork.
“The thing I enjoy the most is the thing I’m afraid of the most — talking to people.” He explains: “English is not my first language, and I’m not a really outgoing person. At first, I was struggling, but then I forced myself to [talk to people]. I’m still not so good at it, but I actually enjoy it because I get to know people.”
Johnny’s coffee love has recently expanded to coffee roasting, which he studies on his time off. Up next? Far-future plans include opening an Aussie-style coffee shop in Fort Worth with affordable, chef-crafted cuisine and a family-friendly vibe. For now, he’ll be pouring fancy lattes and watering his orchids — but not too often. “When you think it’s time to water your orchid, just wait one more day,” he says. Patience and persistence aren’t just Johnny’s secrets to growing exotic flowers; they are virtues that have served him well on his ongoing quest for the next endeavor. “It’s a fun journey.”