Whether they arrive tableside on top of your bill or are nestled neatly beneath cardboard containers in your bag of delivery, fortune cookies are the highlight of any meal they accompany. But who is behind those subtle, crunchy treats and the words of wisdom that can be found inside each?
Wonton Food, Inc. — in addition to manufacturing noodles, dumpling wrappers, pre-made filling, and other products — produces more fortune cookies than any other company in the world, about four million per day end. From their facilities in Long Island City, New York, the cookies are shipped nation-wide, and grace the likes of more than 40,000 restaurants in the United States. Donald Lau has worked for Wonton Foods since the 1980s, when it was just a small noodle company in Chinatown; as the organization grew and production increased, he took over writing the fortunes for the cookies. Lau plans to retire from the Chief Fortune Writer position at the end of this ear, so the Eater video team sat down with him to learn about the tricks of his trade.
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FAQs
THE instructions on the red wrapper are very explicit: (1) Open the packaging. (2) Use both hands to break open the fortune cookie. (3) Retrieve and read the fortune. (4) Eat the cookie.
How much do fortune cookie writers make? ›
How much does a Fortune Cookie Writer make? As of Jun 17, 2024, the average hourly pay for a Fortune Cookie Writer in the United States is $38.94 an hour.
Who wrote The Fortunes for cookies until 1995? ›
The company that produces fortune cookies, Wonton Food Inc, pumps out 4.5 million of them every single day in Brooklyn, New York. Until 1995, their Vice President, Donald Lau, wrote the fortunes.
How many different fortune cookie sayings are there? ›
7. There is a limited number of unique fortunes. Wonton Food Inc. has about 15,000 fortunes in a database it uses for all its cookies. Donald Lau, former vice president and chief financial officer Wonton Food, wrote most of those fortunes as part of his job when he first started with the company.
What is the spiritual meaning of the fortune cookie? ›
Fortune Cookies symbolize luck, wisdom, fate, and all that is unknown. This all comes from the fortune that is inside. The message in your cookie is for you. Out of every single fortune cookie that you could've picked, you picked that one.
Do you actually eat fortune cookies? ›
They rarely eat. Fortune cookies are served in Chinese restaurants, but there is no Chinese custom of eating these cookies at all, and it is presumed that the Japanese probably made these cookies.
What is highest paid job in the world? ›
Highest Paying Jobs in The World 2024
- Data Scientist.
- Investment Banker.
- Corporate Lawyer.
- Project Manager.
- Senior Software Engineer.
- Chief Executive Officer.
- Financial Analyst.
- Chartered Accountant.
While fortune cookie writers don't need to complete a degree or undergo any specific training, they need to have great writing skills.
Are fortune cookies still a thing? ›
Manufacturers. There are approximately 3 billion fortune cookies made each year globally, the majority of them consumed in the US. The largest manufacturer of the cookies is Wonton Food, Inc., headquartered in Brooklyn, New York. They make over 4.5 million fortune cookies per day.
Who was the first person to make a fortune cookie? ›
Most people nowadays believe that fortune cookies were created by a Japanese man named Makoto Hagiwara in 1914 in San Francisco. Hagiwara owned what is now called the Golden Gate Park Japanese Tea Garden, where he served tea and fortune cookies.
This will give you a better chance at winning the lottery
The six numbers in FORTUNE COOKIES associated with the most winners are: 4, 14, 15, 22, 26 and 28.
Do they have fortune cookies in China? ›
While Chinese restaurants all over the world serve fortune cookies, the ones in China don't.
Who made the biggest fortune cookie? ›
The largest fortune cookie is 1.47 kg (3 lb 3 oz), and was achieved by Nick DiGiovanni (USA) and Uncle Roger (Malaysia) in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, on 12 November 2022.
How rare is a blank fortune cookie? ›
Therefore, in my experience, the probability is less than 1 in 8640 of a cookie with no fortune.
Is there a fortune cookie Emoji? ›
Fortune Cookie was approved as part of Unicode 10.0 in 2017 and added to Emoji 5.0 in 2017.
Is it good or bad luck if your fortune cookie is empty? ›
If there is no fortune in a fortune cookie, it is a sign that something good will happen to you soon. (Because fortune-cookie-fairy owes you one fortune.) 9.) If you text your fortune to one person that is very close, the fortune can come true for both you and the person you texted!
How do fortunes get into cookies? ›
Answer. The cookies are baked as flat circles. After they are removed from the oven, slips of paper are folded inside while the cookies are still warm and flexible. As the fortune cookies cool, they harden into shape.
Can you eat fortune cookies with braces? ›
Can I Eat Hard Cookies with Braces? You may not be surprised by this entry considering that most foods with such a high sugar content prove to be dangerous for people who were metal teeth aligners. However, cookies are actually safe to eat, as long as they are not hard. Soften your cookies by dipping them in milk.
